Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018, the ousting of Steve Smith and David Warner from the tournament shattered hopes of many cricket fans. And today, when the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) faced each other, the tweeps termed the clash as boring and uninteresting. The RR batsmen failed to put a good score on the board. On the other hand, Shikhar Dhawan murdered the economy rates of RR bowlers right from the beginning. While chasing a score of 126 runs, he scored a massive 77 runs off 57 balls and helped SRH win the game by 9 wickets.
Here are the glimpses from today’s clash:
23:00 IST And the show is over for tonight. Dhawan ruined the RR bowlers and scored the highest individual total in this tournament so far – 77 runs off 57 balls. Also, a classic and supportive knock from Kane Williamson. SRH Fans will have a good sleep tonight while the Rajasthan followers, better luck next time!
22:49 IST Dhawan has made the job so easy for his team. Rahane dropped his catch in the first over and now see, what has he done!
Shikhar Dhawan gives a flying start to SRH. #IPL18 #SRHvRR pic.twitter.com/IHf7VQVizF
— Live scores (@ICCLive_PAK) April 9, 2018
22:27 IST And you know how exactly the RR fans are feeling right now? Wait for it….
RR fans Right now#SRHvRR
Missing @stevesmith49 pic.twitter.com/KDSM4tp17w— Ꮪunil ℜаj (@BadassAdian) April 9, 2018
22:14 IST SRH off to a terrific start. Though sending Wriddhiman Saha in the opening slot is still an unsolved mystery but the wat ‘Gabbar’ Shikhar Dhawan is batting, he’s putting immense pressure on the opponents and their owners as well.
@rajasthanroyals Owners Situation #SRHvRR pic.twitter.com/mQxDqv4jBO
— Arman Malik (@arman6182) April 9, 2018
21:39 IST It’s an innings break. Rajasthan terribly failed to put a good total on the board. On the other hand, SRH bowlers just tore opponent’s batting line-up apart. RR – 125/9. SRH needs 126 runs to win!
21:34 IST It’s a tough day for Rajasthan in the office today. Overall, the fans are finding it, you know, boring!
As expected Boring Match Rajsthan 121/7 #SRHvRR
— KOMAL (@KomalD_Proxy) April 9, 2018
21:22 IST Unlike Chennai, Rajasthan seem to have failed to make the most of their comeback. The top order collapsed and the middle order is struggling. A strong team on the paper but nothing visible on the field.
#RR before innings VS After Innings #SRHvRR pic.twitter.com/95aV3rQEZR
— Bhrustrated® (@AnupamUncl) April 9, 2018
21:08 IST It seems Rashid Khan has been specially trained by VVS Laxman for taking acrobatic catches. This guy is not only grabbing the balls but also performing some serious gymnastic moves. Sliding, running across quickly just to catch the ball safely.
Rashid khan catching like: #SRHvRR pic.twitter.com/npeIlfzvpF
— Rasool (@imrasool) April 9, 2018
20: 53 IST: There are few empty stands visible in today’s game. No Warner or Smith reason behind it? Meanwhile, after 12 overs RR were 87/3. Will they be able to touch 170 from here?
Aaj ka Match dhatura jaisa hai #SRHvRR
— Emptiness (@Song_Wine) April 9, 2018
20:50 IST While everybody is missing Smith and Warner, there is something which has caught the attention of SRH bowler Billy Stanlake. No, no, not his bowling (as of now) but his height. Yeah, we hardly find tall cricketers in India now a days.
1. Tall
2. Very tall
3. Extremely tall
4. Stanlake#SRHvRR @SunRisers #IPL— Krishna Kanth (@vvnkk8) April 9, 2018
20:41 IST Rashid Khan is winning the internet tonight. Just 1 run from his first over and the big man Ben Stokes is figuring out, what the hell to do. This Afghani spinner is undoubtedly a gem, the Tweeps are saying so and much more!
Ben Stokes infront of Rashid Khan today #SRHvsRR pic.twitter.com/Vn221jxGbw
— Shah Faisal Khan (@SFKtweets) April 9, 2018
20:28 IST See, I told you guys. Warner and Smith are the most cricketers tonight. The fans are missing them so much that the duo is ruling the MEME WAR on Twitter. What if there no sandpapers in the world…
Current situation of Davey and Smith @Vivo_India #VIVOIPL #PerfectFan #VivoIndia #SRHvRR pic.twitter.com/FRWkrVprfI
— αмεεя (@ImAmeer7) April 9, 2018
20:16 IST The SRH has started off well and look who is getting all the praises? It’s the Afghani spin wizard Rashid Khan. The young spinner is looking confident on the field. So, what do you think, how many wicket for this lad tonight?
Man, Rashid’s confidence has grown so much. Look at the body language, look at the confidence when he speaks. Great stuffff #SRHvRR
— samreen (@SamreenRazzaqui) April 9, 2018
20:10 IST IPL debut for D’Arcy Short and what just happened. Shayad usey Indian batsmen ke run-out karane ki aadat ka pata nahi tha. Short fell short of the crease.
Khud ko Kohli se better prove karne ke liye, Rahane ab samne wale ko run out bhi karvane laga #SRHvRR
— Hardik (@Humor_Silly) April 9, 2018
20:03 IST The game has begun and the fans are missing David Warner. And what probably Warner might be doing? Watching this clash, obviously!
It hurts a lot seeing Orange Army without Warner #SRHvRR #IPL2018
— नरेश खनाल “निशी” (@Nishani53) April 9, 2018
19:48 IST Yes, it happened during the toss. Williamson needs to remember his teammates’ names!
Rahane reminds williamson that his 4th overseas player is Shakib#SRHvsRR #IPL2018
— Cricket Guru (@CricketGuru15) 9 April 2018
19:43 IST And here are the playing XI of both the sides:
SRH: Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson(c), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Billy Stanlake, Siddarth Kaul
RR: Ajinkya Rahane(c), D Arcy Short, Sanju Samson(w), Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, Jos Buttler, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat, Ben Laughlin
19:35 IST Well, well, well! The local team, SRH have won the toss and they are in a mood to chase. Williamson invited Rahane & Co. to bat first.
19:33 IST: Two maybe?
It’s ‘GO’ time, #Royals! @JaydevUnadkat
How many wickets will he take tonight??#HallaBol #SRHvsRR pic.twitter.com/NTlZk0qJfs
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) 9 April 2018
19:27 IST: Why less crowd today? Missing Warner & Smith?
about 45 minutes left for the SRH-RR match to begin. size of the crowd is not encouraging. #SRHvsRR @Xpress_Sports pic.twitter.com/kJ8fZrjzuR
— vishal vivek (@VishalTNIE) 9 April 2018
19:24 IST: Toss Time! SRH skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and will bowl first.
19:15 IST: That’s what happened last night. KKR registered an easy win over Virat Kohli-led RCB.
Pic1— me before the match yesterday __
Pic2 — after the match __
”bahut Mara kkR walo ne _#KKRvsRCB #RCBvsKKR #Srhvsrr #SRHvsRR #RRvsSRH #RRvSRH #SRHvRR #VIVOIPLonStar #EeSalaCupNamde #MIvCSK #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/wso1EVDQF0
— Sir Yuzvendra chahal (@SirChahal) 9 April 2018
19:10 IST: Let’s focus on the game at hand. ‘Gabbar’ Shikhar Dhawan needs to score at least a run in this game, otherwise, if he goes for a duck in this game, he will be the third SRH batsman with most ducks. Ahem, ahem! Dhawan, are you listening?
19:00 IST: Fans will be missing ‘Jai-Veeru’ of cricket, Steve Smith and David Warner in today’s game. The duo were barred by the BCCI from taking part in the IPL after their role in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa! Tsk, Tsk! Cheating and that TOO IN THE GENTLEMAN’S GAME! It was a dark day for cricket fans. Though some feel CA announced too harsh a punishment. But cheating is cheating.
