In Sunday's first game of the 16th edition of the coveted Indian T20 League, Rajasthan faced off against Hyderabad in the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The hosts won the toss and chose to bowl first; Rajasthan was pretty happy with the decision. Both their opening batters went off to amazing starts, scoring fifties to set a solid foundation for the rest of the Rajasthan batters to come in and take the team total to a big figure.
A specific moment in the game caught everyone's attention as Umran Malik bowled a collector's item to get rid of Devdutt Padikkal, which remained the only scalp for the speedster. The ball bowled at 149 kmph, left Padikkal rooted to his spot as it hit his furnitures. The sheer pace of the delivery was so much that it uprooted the off stump as it went flying.
Here's the video:
149 kph by Umran Malik to cleans up Padikkal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mSS8RTKBjA
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 2, 2023
Rajasthan scored 203/5 in 20 overs against Hyderabad
Rajasthan, however, closed off their innings at 203/5 in their twenty overs. They could have reached a much higher score, making the target even more challenging for the home team. The visitors kept losing wickets at regular. T Natarajan remained the pick of the bowlers for Hyderabad, claiming two wickets for 23 runs in three overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi also returned with two wickets but went for a hefty 41 in his four overs.
For Rajasthan, three batters went past the fifty-run mark. Aside from Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Butler, skipper Sanju Samson scored a fifty. Lower down the order, Shimron Hetmyer contributed 22 off just 16 to give a final boost to the Rajasthan innings. Hyderabad now has a steep chase of 204 runs off 120 balls in front of them if they want to get off to a winning start in the ITL 2023.
Bangalore will host Mumbai in a clash of the league's longest-active teams in Super Sunday's second game. It promises to be an intense match-up with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli going against each other.
Here's how fans reacted to Umran Malik's peach of a delivery:
Pace is pace if batsman Tatti ho
— Jhootha LOL Gadha™ (@FakeRainaNephew) April 2, 2023
Kavya Fans can assemble here 😍 pic.twitter.com/6D1CreJZCP
— SR Cricket Fantasy (@CricketFantasyS) April 2, 2023
Indians after seeing 145+ deliveries pic.twitter.com/o9ZTahtijE
— rohan (@rohancric947) April 2, 2023
Ukhaad ke rakh diya bhai
— Cricket Fan 07 (@Manas_pr_sharma) April 2, 2023
He stopped the celebration that's what I liked
— Raj 🐺 (@the__choosenone) April 2, 2023
And how good is the commentary from Nat?!😍
— Srikanth (@G_Srikanth24) April 2, 2023
— Crictechz (@Crictechz_) April 2, 2023
Such a cute face but blessed with a raw pace
— ً (@SarcasticCowboy) April 2, 2023
Sending timber flying is a scene to watch ❤️