The Rajiv Gandhi international stadium in Hyderabad is turning out to be a bowlers' graveyard in the IPL.
Once again, batters dominated in a high-scoring match as the hapless bowlers were smashed to all parts of the ground.
However, a few bowlers still walked away with their reputations intact.
The best spells of the match:
Harshal Patel
In a high-scoring match which saw over 500 runs being scored, Harshal Patel stood out with his impressive economy rate.
The veteran pacer, who was acquired by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) at the mega auction in Jeddah last November, used his vast experience to keep the batters in check on a batting-friendly pitch.
Death overs specialist Harshal came into the attack in the 10th over. He was hit for a couple of sixes by the free-flowing Sanju Samson over long-on before he had the last laugh, dismissing the Rajasthan Royals opener in his second over.
Harshal deceived Samson completely with a slower bouncer. Samson top edged the pull shot and was caught by wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen.
Harshal continued to apply pressure, conceding just four singles in a tidy over against the big-hitting duo of Shimron Hetmyer and Shubham Dubey. Fittingly, he bowled the final over, in which he bagged Hetmyer's wicket.
Finishing with 2/34, Harshal played a key role in stifling Royals' momentum in the middle overs.
Simarjeet Singh
Simarjeet Singh made a dream debut for SRH, making an immediate impact with a two-wicket burst in his first over.
Delhi pacer Simarjeet had struggled for game time during his last three seasons at CSK, where he claimed nine wickets in 10 games, but given a chance in SRH's opening match of IPL 2025, he made sure to grab the opportunity with both hands.
He repaid the team's faith by striking with the big wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal off his third ball. Two balls later, he dealt Royals another blow in the form of stand-in captain Riyan Parag, who miscued the pull shot to be caught at mid-on.
On a flat track, Simarjeet made the difference with his two wickets in the Powerplay, while conceding 20 from his two overs.
Tushar Deshpande
Another former CSK player Tushar Deshpande enjoyed a memorable debut for his new team.
The Royals pacer played a key role in checking SRH's charge temporarily by striking a crucial moment in the middle overs.
Introduced in the 10th over, he dismissed dangerman Travis Head in his first over, caught at mid-off after smashing 67 from 31 balls.
His best moment came in his final over when he got rid of Aniket Verma and Abhinav Manohar off successive deliveries, to finish with a respectable 3/44 in his four overs on a day when most bowlers suffered a lot of punishment.
Maheesh Theekshana
The Sri Lankan spinner who featured for CSK in the last three IPLs was entrusted with the challenging task of bowling in the Powerplay.
He was punished by Travis Head in his opening over but bounced back to dismiss the dangerous Abhishek Sharma in his next over to check SRH's early onslaught.
Theekshana had a tough time controlling the flow of runs but had some consolation when he dismissed Nitish Reddy in his final over, to register expensive figures of 2/52 in his four overs.
Abhishek Sharma
Abhishek Sharma went wicketless, but his two tight overs proved invaluable in a high-scoring encounter.
SRH, who played just one specialist spinner in Adam Zampa against Royals, will look towards Abhishek playing a role with the ball in the middle overs.
p>He excelled with the ball in SRH's first game of the season, conceding just 17 runs in his two overs in a high-scoring game.
He was unlucky not to get Sanju Samson's wicket in his first over when he beat the Royals opener with a sharp turning delivery. Heinrich Klaasen whipped off the bails but Samson managed to drag his feet back in time.
Photographs: BCCI
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