Sunrisers Hyderabad, led by Aiden Markram, had a rough start to the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. After playing three matches in the ongoing T20 tournament, the champions in 2016 IPL has finally a win under the belt for the Orange Army.
In the 14th match of IPL 2023, Sunrisers Hyderabad faced off against the Punjab Kings led by Shikhar Dhawan at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday, April 9.
After winning the toss, Hyderabad decided to bowl first and put in an impressive display with the ball. The early dismissal of Punjab’s Prabhsimran Singh on the first ball of the innings gave them a boost. However, despite the poor start, skipper Dhawan played a crucial inning, remaining unbeaten on 99 runs.
As the Hyderabad team approached the end of the first inning, frustration began to mount as Punjab Kings struggled to put runs on the board and Dhawan continued to stand strong. This frustration was captured on camera when team owner Kavya Maran was seen telling the cameraman to move away and not focus on her, possibly indicating her frustration with the situation.
Hyderabad struggled in their run chase after Punjab posted a total of 143 runs on the board. They lost Mayank Agarwal and Harry Brook early on in the inning. However, Rahul Tripathi and skipper Aiden Markram put up a strong partnership and played excellent innings to lead their team to victory.
Tripathi remained unbeaten on 74 runs while Markram also scored 37 runs not out. As a result, Hyderabad secured their first win of the IPL 2023 season by defeating Punjab by eight wickets.