Kavya Maran. (Photo Source: Twitter)
The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 got off to a rocky start for the 2016 champions, Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Aiden Markram-led side have played three matches at the ongoing T20 carnival so far, where they have only won one match.
In the 14th match of the tournament, Hyderabad took on the Shikhar Dhawan-led Punjab Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday, April 9. Electing to bowl first, the hosts put in a fabulous performance with the ball.
Punjab batter Prabhsimran Singh was sent back to the pavilion on the very first ball of the first innings, which helped Hyderabad gain momentum. However, Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan did play a captain’s knock, scoring an unbeaten 99 runs.
As Hyderabad inched closer to bundling their opponents’ out for a low total, frustration rose in the team as Dhawan refused to budge. That frustration was evident as team owner Kaviya Maran was captured telling the cameraman “Hatt rey” when she was shown on TV, and indicated not focus on her during the first innings.
Rahul Tripathi comes in clutch for Sunrisers Hyderabad
After Punjab posted 143 runs on the board, the hosts got off to a rocky start as well after Mayank Agarwal and Harry Brook were dismissed early on during the run chase.
However, Rahul Tripathi and skipper Aiden Markram took responsibility and played stellar knocks, which propelled their side to their first win of the IPL 2023 season. Tripathi scored an unbeaten 74 runs, whereas Markram notched up 37* on the board as Hyderabad won the clash against Punjab by eight wickets.
Following their win, Hyderabad also registered their first points in the IPL points table. The Aiden Markram-led side now sits in eighth place in the standings with two points in three games. On the other hand, Punjab Kings slip down to sixth place after they lost their first game of the season.