Despite recording their highest team total, Rajasthan Royals lost to the Sunrisers Hyderabad by 44 runs in their first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday.

Tushar Deshpande was the pick of the bowlers for the Royals after finishing with figures of 3/44, while Dhruv Jurel was the top-scorer for the team with 70 runs off 35 balls - his best score in T20s.

Chasing 287, Sanju Samson – who came in as an Impact Player in place of Fazalhaq Farooqi – looked to set the tone early with aggressive strokeplay, striking a couple of boundaries and a six in the opening over.

However, Rajasthan Royals suffered early blows as Simarjeet Singh dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Riyan Parag in the second over. Mohammed Shami then removed Nitish Rana in the fifth over to leave RR on 50/3.

Unfazed by the setbacks, Samson found support in Dhruv Jurel, who counter-attacked from the outset.

The duo steadied the innings with Samson racing to a 26-ball fifty by the 10th over as Rajasthan Royals reached 118/3 at the halfway stage.

A lifeline came Samson’s way when Mohammed Shami put down a catch off Pat Cummins’ bowling in the 12th over.

Meanwhile, Jurel took charge by smashing three sixes in the 13th over and bringing up his half-century in just 28 balls.

The Royals though suffered a hammer blow in the next over as Samson perished after being caught by Heinrich Klaasen off Harshal Patel’s bowling. He made 66 off 37 balls.

One wicket led to another as Jurel departed in the very next over as the wheels started to come off the Royals’ run chase.

Shimron Hetmyer (42 off 23 balls) and Shubham Dubey (34* off 11 balls) managed to strike a few hefty blows and reduce the margin of defeat as Rajasthan Royals finished on 242/6 at the end of their quota of 20 overs. The score is RR’s highest in the IPL.

Earlier in the day, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to field first. The Royals were put under early pressure as Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head came out swinging in the powerplay.

Maheesh Theekshana provided the breakthrough in the fourth over by dismissing Abhishek Sharma, but the setback did little to slow SRH’s momentum.

Ishan Kishan joined Head at the crease and the duo kept the onslaught going, propelling the hosts to 94/1 at the end of the powerplay.

The left-handed pair stitched together a blistering 85-run stand off just 39 balls before Tushar Deshpande’s well-disguised knuckleball in the 10th over finally ended Head’s explosive innings.

Nitish Kumar Reddy was the next batter in for SRH and he made a quickfire 30 before Theekshana got his wicket in the 15th over after the hosts had already crossed the 200-run mark - equalling the fastest IPL team 200.

Heinrich Klaasen also played a brisk cameo of 34 before being dismissed while Ishan Kishan continued to attack the bowlers at the other and brought up his hundred in the penultimate over of the innings.

Tushar Deshpande took two wickets in the last over but Sunrisers Hyderabad still went on to post a match-winning total of 286/6.

Rajasthan Royals will face Kolkata Knight Riders in their next IPL 2025 match at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2025, brief scores: SRH 286/6 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 106*; Tushar Deshpande 3/44) beat RR 242/6 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jurel 70, Sanju Samson 66; Harshal Patel 2/34) by 44 runs.