SRH kick off IPL 2025 with a stunning 286/6, led by Ishan Kishan’s 106 on debut, showcasing their power-hitting prowess in a dominant win over RR.
Mumbai: If IPL’s season 17 felt like one extended party of power-hitting from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), it only appears to have carried over into the league’s adulthood. If the two left-handers at the top weren’t enough to have a blast, there’s now a third in the loop. If Hyderabad stood witness to its franchise redefining T20 batting as a collective last year, the sea of orange was left happily rocking by another red-hot batting storm to kick off this season.
SRH’s Ishan Kishan celebrates his ton against RR on Sunday. (AFP)
SRH began their 2024 home run by posting a then barely believable 277/3. They surged higher on their return in 2025, landing at 286/6 while handing Rajasthan Royals (RR) a 44-run drubbing.
Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma were the sparkling southpaws of that evening last year against Mumbai Indians. The two again did some damage but on Sunday afternoon it was Ishan Kishan who sizzled the brightest with a 47-ball unbeaten 106 at No.3.
Arms spread, the left-hander winged away as he celebrated his first IPL hundred on his SRH debut after being a long-time Mumbai Indian.
That the landmark arrived turning up for a team that boasts of the top three totals in IPL history — Sunday’s 286 was one short of SRH’s record set in 2024 — can’t be all coincidence. The culture of freedom that last year’s runners-up have sown is bringing the best out of some of the finest power-hitters, and Kishan could well blossom in it too. The start certainly points to that.
“The environment is different here,” Kishan said in a chat with the broadcaster. “Especially the skipper (Pat Cummins) is giving a lot of freedom to everyone; doesn’t matter if you’re getting a lot of runs or getting out early. That’s the kind of confidence every player needs.”
That’s also the kind of intent every SRH batter walks in with — to drive the momentum from the get-go. It doesn’t always come off but when it does, it can often bury opponents in quick time. Like it did to RR.
As was often the case last season, the base of SRH’s giant totals was laid by Head (67 – 31b) and Abhishek (24 – 11b). Riyan Parag, leading RR as Sanju Samson was used only as impact player, put the hosts in, and that was invitation enough for the dashing duo.
Abhishek toyed with the protected leg-side field set for left-armer Fazalhaq Farooqi by moving his feet and opening up the off-side. Head bludgeoned the pace of Jofra Archer with brutality, a cracking pull that went 105m being the standout in a 23-run over.
Abhishek was sent back by Maheesh Theekshana in the fourth over yet one ball later, Kishan hit consecutive fours. Sure, the first was a streaky edge, and SRH batters did enjoy some luck on the day, but the approach met its reward.
And so, the first ball after the 94-run Powerplay was struck for a boundary by Kishan. Sandeep Sharma brought in his change of pace but Head was equally effective in reading and dispatching the slower balls.
Once the Aussie departed at the halfway mark, the Indian took over. England’s Archer, with the most expensive IPL figures (0/76), bore the brunt again. A top-edged six had him laughing, only for a smirk to make way when Kishan carved one over point and then smacked another flat through cover.
The 200 was up in 14.1 overs before Nitish Reddy (30 – 15b) was dismissed, Heinrich Klaasen (34 – 14b) continued to press on. Kishan’s back-to-back maximums in the 19th over flirted with the audacious thought of a team 300, only for Tushar Deshpande’s twin wickets in the last over quelling it.
Like MI last year, RR too had their moments in the chase. The 111-run blitz between Samson (66 – 37b) and Dhruv Jurel (70 – 35b) after RR were 77/3 in the Powerplay was a positive. So was the late flourish by Shimron Hetmyer (42 – 23b) and Shubham Dubey (34* – 11b) after the Indians fell in quick succession. Yet, like SRH’s opening home game script last year, the target proved just too tall for RR.
