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The action in the 2023 Indian Premier League's (IPL) first weekend continued with an afternoon encounter between the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday, April 2.
Stand-in captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the toss for SRH and decided to bowl first. RR openers Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal got the team to a historic start in the powerplay.
The inaugural IPL winners scored 85 runs off the first six overs, notching a new franchise record and overtaking their previous record tally of 81 they had amassed in the 2021 season.
The famed RR top three all notched their half-centuries, while a handy cameo from Shimron Hetmyer pushed the team past the 200-run mark.
Chasing a mammoth 204-run target for victory, SRH were off to the worst possible start. Trent Boult got the ball to swing around and began with a double-wicket maiden.
Things took a turn for the worse for SunRisers as wickets continued to tumble. They lost half their side for 48, staring at a mammoth defeat. SRH were all but out of the contest with spin bowling entering the fray as well and eventually slumped to a heavy 72-run defeat to begin their IPL 2023 campaign.
IPL 2023 Orange Cap updated list
RR's batting trio of Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Sanju Samson stormed into the list for the top-10 run-getters in IPL 2023, courtesy of their dominant batting displays. Despite their dominant showing, it is Ruturaj Gaikwad who still holds the Orange Cap with 92 runs.
Sanju Samson, the top scorer in the first innings, narrowly pipped his teammates to occupy the fifth spot. The RR skipper scored 55 off 32 deliveries, including three boundaries and four sixes, to continue his trend of beginning the season on a bright note.
Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal both scored 54 runs while opening the batting and hold the sixth and the seventh place in the rankings, respectively. The duo are only separated by strike rate as the England skipper had an imperious strike rate of 245 compared to Jasiwal's 145.
IPL 2023 Purple Cap updated list
Reigning Purple Cap holder from IPL 2022, Yuzvendra Chahal, got into the act straightaway, announcing his intention to retain the tag of the highest wicket-taker.
The leg-spinner bowled a near-perfect spell, beginning with the wicket of debutant Harry Brook. He followed it up with the wickets of Mayank Agarwal, Adil Rashid, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to finish with figures of 4/17 and claim second spot in the Purple Cap charts.
LSG pacer Mark Wood still holds the Purple Cap after beginning his 2023 campaign as well as his franchise debut with a five-wicket haul.
Trent Boult's raging opening spell also rewarded him with a place among the top 10 wicket-takers. He returned with figures of 2/21, accounting for the wickets of Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi in his first over itself.
Who will win this season's Orange Cap and Purple Cap? Let us know what you think.
