Hyderabad [India], Apr.6 : Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated Royal challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 35 runs in the opening match of 10th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket stadium in Hyderabad played on Wednesday.
Chasing a target of 208 runs, RCB managed to score only 172 for 10 wickets in 19.4 overs. The new opening pair of Chris Gayle and Mandeep Singh added 52 runs for the opening wicket. The Jamaican struck two boundaries and three sixes in his 21-ball 32, while Mandeep made 24 from 16 balls.
However, both batsmen were dismissed in successive overs - in the sixth and seventh - and that meant RCB had two new men at the crease.
Ashish Nehra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan picked up two wickets each for Sunrisers. Earlier put into bat, Sunrisers notched 207 for 4 against RCB in stipulated 20 overs. Flamboyant left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh top-scored with a 27-ball 62 while Moises Henriques and Shikhar Dhawan contributed with 52 and 40 runs respectively.
Yuvraj, Man of the Match, during his knock struck 7 fours and 3 sixes. Earlier in the evening, the tournament got off with a colourful opening ceremony in Hyderabad last evening.
The league, this time around, will have eight opening ceremonies. IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla had earlier said, unlike the past, this edition plans to host eight different opening ceremonies, one before the first home game of each franchise.
IPL matches, this time, will be played over the course of 47 days at 10 different venues..
Source: ANI
