IPL 2018, Match 4 SRH vs RR: 5 Talking Points

The match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday completed the first round of fixtures for all the eight teams in IPL 2018 and surprisingly, it turned out to be a very one-sided contest.

The match saw two sides led by players who were thrust into the role following the ouster of David Warner and Steven Smith following the Sandpaper Gate controversy and it was SRH's Kane Williamson who came out on top in this contest against RR's Ajinkya Rahane.

Right from the run-out of D'Arcy Short in the very first over of the Rajasthan innings, the hosts were in full control of the match, executing a well-thought-out plan to perfection and thereby getting their tournament off to a winning start.

Here are the 5 major talking points from today's match.

---

#5 Shikhar Dhawan rides his luck to yet another IPL fifty

Shikhar Dhawan has been in terrific form for India over the last one year or so and with David Warner not present in this edition of the IPL, SRH will be hoping that Dhawan can step up his game one notch further to get their team off to a good start.

He did manage to do just that today but had plenty of luck on his side as Ajinkya Rahane dropped a sitter at slips when Dhawan was yet to get off the mark.

He also had a lucky escape when he was batting on 36 as he top-edged a wrong one from Shreyas Gopal but the ball landed in no man's land.

Dhawan was flawless from that point on as he rode his way to yet another IPL half-century - the 29th of his career - and he saw his side to victory alongside his skipper with an unbeaten 121-run partnership for the second wicket.

#4 Siddarth Kaul's express pace rattles RR

Kaul's express pace and bouncers made life uncomfortable for the Rajasthan Royals' batsman

A member of the victorious Indian team at the 2008 Under-19 World Cup, IPL 2017 finally saw Siddarth Kaul make his mark in the T20 tournament picking up 16 wickets from 10 matches.

He has started the 2018 edition in superb fashion, conceding just 17 runs in his 4 overs as well as picking up two wickets, including that of Ajinkya Rahane.

What was most impressive about his bowling was the pace he generated off the surface as well as the way he mixed up his deliveries.

He made life uncomfortable for the opposition batsman with his well-placed bouncers and despite his express pace, he was well in control of his deliveries and looks set to be a vital part of the SRH bowling line-up this season.

#3 Big money signings fail to deliver for the Royals

Stokes failed to make an impact with either bat or ball on his debut for the Royals

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the 2018 IPL player auctions was the way Rajasthan Royals moved away from their conservative approach to spending and splash the cash for the likes of Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat - the two highest-priced players this time around.

Along with Stokes, another player who is expected to be the powerhouse for the Royals in the batting department is Jos Buttler, but the England duo missed out completely against SRH today.

Despite Sanju Samson's brilliant innings, that got the away side off to a decent start, no other batsmen were able to chip in with a considerable score leaving them with an under-par score that was never going to be enough.

Defending a small total of 125, it was vital that Rajasthan took all the chances that came their way but it was the skipper Ajinkya Rahane himself who dropped a sitter of the very first over and there was simply no way back for them from that point on, despite Unadkat's early dismissal of Wriddhiman Saha.

#2 SRH's bowling line-up arguably the best in IPL 2018

Rashid Khan is poised to have a standout season in IPL 2018

The fact that the Purple Cap winner in the last two editions of the IPL - Bhuvneshwar Kumar - was SRH's least impressive bowler on the day when they managed to restrict the opposition to just 125 runs in their 20 overs speaks volume of how strong a bowling unit Kane Williamson has at his disposal.

It was pretty evident that the SRH team management was well prepared for today's contest with proper plans in place for individual players and the bowlers executed those plans perfectly, making the skipper's job a lot easier.

SRH has plenty of variety in their bowling with Bhuvi providing the swing option while Kaul and Stanlake are all about express pace.

To top it all, they have the No1 ranked T20 bowler in the world Rashid Khan in their ranks along with the highly experienced Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.

With such variations, SRH has arguably the best bowling unit in IPL 2018 and if they can bowl nearly as well as they did today, they have a very good chance of progressing to the knockout phase of the tournament.

#1 Kane Williamson gets his captaincy spot on

Kane Williamson was brilliant on the field on his captaincy debut for SRH

2018 could be the year Kane Williamson finally makes his mark in the IPL and not just as a player, but as a skipper as well.

Captain of the New Zealand side in all three formats of the game, Williamson is not new to the role and if Monday's match is anything to go by, the 27-year-old could very well stake a claim for the role of SRH skipper on a permanent basis even if Warner returns next year.

Williamson used the right bowlers at the right time, shuffling his bowlers around superbly, mixing the pace of Billy Stanlake and Siddarth Kaul with the spin and guile of Shakib-al-Hasan and Rashid Khan.

The way he held back SRH's trump card Rashid Khan till Ben Stokes walked out to the middle for Rajasthan was brilliant. The move worked well for RR as Stanlake dismissed Stokes in the very next over and Rajasthan's innings only went on a downward slide after that.

He led from the front on the field with his brilliant run out of D'Arcy Short in the very first over as well as the catch of Ben Stokes, albeit after a slight fumble.

Williamson then played his part with the bat, remaining unbeaten on 36 as his side cruised to a nine-wicket victory following the 121-run stand for the second wicket alongside Shikhar Dhawan.