The 21st match of TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 was between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals. The match centered on India’s young pacers Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, the two debutant pacers picking four wickets each and dismantling the RR batting order as they chased a target of 217 runs.
Praful Hinge started the havoc by dismissing three batsmen in the first over and became the first bowler to do so in the 19 editions of the tournament. He sacked Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel and Lhuan-dre Pretorius. RR won the toss and elected to play first. Jofra Archer gave RR the dream start, picking up a first-ball wicket, dismissing Abhishek Sharma.
Ishan Kishan once again the hero
However, SRH captain Ishan Kishan once again stepped up and scored a brilliant 91 off 44 balls, and was supported by Heinrich Klaasen who scored 40 off 26 balls. Later, it was Nitish Kumar Reddy and Salil Arora, who played a crucial role, scoring 28 and 24 runs respectively. As SRH scored 216/6 in their 20 overs.
The outing to chase RR was dismantled by player of the match Praful Hinge, who picked up Vaibhav report on the first ball of the second innings, and did not stop and continued to pick up wickets in the first over, and had a dream debut. In his second over, he picked out RR captain Riyan Parag.
Praful Hinge was all over Rajasthan
RR were 9/5 at one point, and from there, Donovan Ferreira and Ravindra Jadeja put together a 118-run partnership and saved the table toppers from humiliation. The former scored 69 off 44 balls and Jaddu scored 45 runs. The Royals were bowled out for 159 runs and SRH won the match by 57 runs.
After Praful Hinge’s astonishing spell of 4/34 in his debut game, he won the Player of the Match award. After receiving the award, he said, “I had written somewhere that I would take 4 or 5 wickets on debut. I thought of dominating the powerplay. I believe in it (demonstration). At the age of 13, I took up cricket.”
Sooryavanshi wicket: Praful Hinge on his best wicket among the four
“I didn’t know what leather ball cricket was. I asked my father to join a club. But he said I was too young. Then he just took me there and I continued playing afterwards. I want to dedicate this award to my family. (On his favorite ground) Sooryavanshi ground. I had told people that I would bowl a bouncer and get him out.”
Praful Hinge concluded by saying, “I just wanted to get it out. Varun bhai (our bowling coach) helped me plan it, so thank you. (On his body) Right now, it’s fine. I want to thank MRF (Pace Foundation). Naveen sir was there and I want to thank him now that I’m on this stage.”
Also Read: IPL 2026 Points Table: Updated Standings, Orange Cap, Purple Cap After SRH vs RR Match 21