Royals restrict Sunrisers to 127/5

Visakhapatnam, April 17: A tight bowling performance by the Rajasthan Royals helped them restrict the Sunrisers Hyderabad to a mere 127/5 in 20 overs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the ACA-VDCA Stadium here on Thursday.

Put in to bat by Royals skipper Steven Smith, the Sunrisers never got any partnership going as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Leg spinner Pravin Tambe (2-21), the oldest player of the tournament at 43, and medio Dhawal Kulkarni (2-9) were the star performers as the duo made sure they kept the Sunrisers' run rate in check. Together they bowled seven overs, taking two wickets and giving away only 30 runs.

There were a few mediocre performances from Sunrisers batsman. Captain David Warner (21), wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha (25), Eoin Morgan (27) and Ravi Bopara (23 not out) got starts but none of them were able to play the anchor's innings to take the home team to a challenging total.