Padikkal is bowled by Umran Malik! Instead of his usual celebration of punching the air, Malik stops midway and smiles at Padikkal, displaying a charming dimple on his face. Padikkal failed to use his feet, and the ball stayed low after landing on a good length, skidding towards the off-stump and beating his defense. The off-stump was uprooted, and this wicket helps SRH to make a comeback.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s stand-in captain, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, has decided to bowl first against Rajasthan Royals in their opening match of the IPL 2023 season at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday.
SRH will be looking to improve their performance from last season when they finished in eighth place on the points table with 12 points, comprising of six wins and eight losses. Led by new captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar, SRH’s pace attack will face off against Sanju Samson’s RR, who were runners-up in the previous season.
RR secured the second spot in the table with 18 points from 14 matches, including nine wins and five losses. Although they lost to Gujarat Titans in the playoffs, their second-placed finish allowed them to advance to the Eliminator, where they defeated RCB by seven wickets. However, they were unable to clinch the title, as they suffered a seven-wicket loss to GT in the final.
Currently, the only silver lining for SRH is that their captain, Markram, has hit a century against Netherlands. This is a clear indication that he is in excellent form and will bring strong momentum to SRH’s performance.