Sunrisers Hyderabad won its second match in IPL 2026 against Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad thanks to stunning performances by debutants Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain.

Up against a Rajasthan Royals in destructive form, Hinge and Sakib claimed eight wickets between them, reducing it to nine for five inside the PowerPlay and eventually bowling it out for 159.

Hinge also made IPL history by becoming the first bowler to take three wickets in the first over of an IPL match, dismissing Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel, and Lhuan-dre Pretorius for ducks.

“I had written this somewhere that I will take 4-5 wickets on my debut. I thought of dominating the PowerPlay,” Player-of-the-Match Hinge said in the post-match press conference.

He also said that form batter Suryavanshi was his favourite wicket, saying, “I had told people that I would bowl a bouncer to him and get him out. I just wanted to get him out. Varun bhai (our bowling coach) helped me plan it, so thank you.”

He also dedicated his award to his family and thanked the MRF Pace Foundation for supporting him.

Sakib described his elation at his debut after the match by saying, “Every player hopes for a debut like this, so it feels really good. I’m very happy. The bowling coach informed me a day before the game that I would be playing. From then on, my focus was simply on performing well.”

He also credited SRH bowling coach Varun Aaron for his improvements. “Varun bhai has been working with me for the past four years. Whatever improvement you see in my bowling is because of him. I give him full credit,” the Bihar quick said.

ALSO READ: SRH vs RR, IPL 2026: Hinge, Sakib too hot to handle as Sunrisers Hyderabad routs Rajasthan Royals

SRH captain Ishan Kishan credited the bowlers for the victory, saying, “What we were looking for from the bowlers to just come here, play freely, execute their plans and I think they did that today and credit goes to all the bowlers.”

“You have to see how hungry they are hungry to play these games, and I think they were working out throughout the season. They were working with fielding, our bowling coach Varun Aaron and they were just trying to give their best, talking to all the experienced players.

“So, I think that was something we were looking for and we had to give them a chance when we were playing in our home ground. They especially did well in the practice matches as well.

Published on Apr 13, 2026