Dhawan stars in SRH's win over Rajasthan Royals

Hyderabad: India opener Shikhar Dhawan and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson played contrasting knocks as the Sunrisers Hyderabad cruised to a nine-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday.
Dhawan and Williamson were involved in unbroken second-wicket partnership of 121 runs as the the Sunrisers took just 15.5 overs to surpass the target of 125 for nine set by the Royals.
Dhawan had a charmed life early on when he was dropped, before the southpaw opened his account, by the Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane off the bowling of Dhawal Kulkarni. And that proved costly for the Royals as Dhawan went to score an unbeaten 77 off 57 balls with the help of 13 fours and a six.
Williamson, who came to the wicket at the fall of Wriddhiman Saha (5), played more cautiously scoring 36 off 35 deliveries with the help of three fours and a six.
None of the seven bowlers the Royals used really managed to trouble Dhawan and Williamson. While Jaydev Udatkat, who accounted for Saha, conceded 28 runs in three overs he bowled, English all-rounder Ben Stokes conceded 21 runs in two overs.
Stokes also failed to perform with the bat earlier scoring just five runs. But it was thanks to wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson’s knock of 49 off 42 deliveries that gave the Royals total some respectability.
For the Sunrisers, Siddharth Kaul and Shakib Al Hasan bagged two wickets each. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Billy Stanlake and Rashid Khan also claimed a wicket apiece.
The Sunrisers will also play their next match at home against Mumbai Indians on Thursday, while the Royals host Delhi Daredevils in Jaipair a day earlier.
Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 125 for 9 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 49; Siddharth. Kaul 2/17, Shakih Al Hasan 2/23) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 127 for 1 in 15.5 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 77 n.o., Kane Williamson 36 n.o.; Jaydev Unadkat 1/21).