IPL: Hyderabad beat Rajasthan to claim top spot

Sunrisers Hyderabad dominated with both bat and ball to defeat Rajasthan Royals by 11 runs and rise to the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) table here on Sunday.

Electing to bat first, Hyderabad rode on excellent batting by Kane Williamson and Alex Hales to post 151/7 in their 20 overs.

In reply, Rajasthan could only manage to reach 140/6.

The win propelled Hyderabad to the top spot on the points table. The visitors now have 12 points from eight matches.

They rose one rung, displacing former champions Chennai Super Kings to the second spot. Kings XI Punjab are at the third position.

Both Chennai and Punjab are on 10 points, with only the net run rate separating the two teams.

Rajasthan's chase was off to a poor start as opener Rahul Tripathi was bowled by Hyderabad pacer Sandeep Sharma in the third over.

Rajasthan skipper Ajinkya Rahane -- the team's other opener -- led from the front, batting through the innings to remain unbeaten on 65 runs off 55 balls.

He posted a partnership of 59 runs off 44 balls with Sanju Samson to bring the hosts' innings back on track after Tripathi's departure.

Samson scored 40 runs off 30 balls before holing out to Hales at short mid-wicket while attempting to smash a deceptive slower ball by Siddarth Kaul out of the ground.

That seemed to take the fight out of the hosts as they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.

Kaul returned figures of 2/23 to emerge as the most successful among the Hyderabad bowlers.

Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi, Rashid Khan and Yusuf Pathan also bagged a wicket each.

Earlier, Hyderabad rode on excellent batting by Williamson and Hales to post 151/7 in their 20 overs.

Williamson smashed 63 runs off 43 balls with seven boundaries and two sixes. Hales scored 45 runs off 39 balls.

The two of them added 92 runs between them to lay the foundation of a big total after Hyderabad opener Shikhar Dhawan was bowled by Krishnappa Gowtham in the third over.

New Zealand spinner Ish Sodhi brought the partnership to an end in the 15th over when he claimed his maiden IPL wicket in the form of Williamson.

That triggered a strong comeback by the hosts as the visitors' middle and lower order failed to rise to the occasion.

West Indies pacer Jofra Archer was the most successful among the Rajasthan bowlers with figures of 3/26 in his four overs.

Brief scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 151/7 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 63, Alex Hales 45; Jofra Archer 3/26) vs Rajasthan Royals: 140/6 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 65, Sanju Samson 40).

--IANS

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