Ishan Kishan says he loves the environment at Sunrisers Hyderabad after marking his franchise debut with a stunning first Indian Premier League hundred.

The SRH batters tormented Jofra Archer and the Rajasthan Royals in an emphatic 44-run home win on Sunday, racking up a score of 286-6 in an astonishing display of hitting.

SRH hit 34 fours – the most ever recorded in a men's T20 innings – and fell just one run short of their own IPL team record total of 287 set against Royal Challengers Bengaluru last season.

It was a staggering batting effort from SRH, who now hold four of the five biggest totals in IPL history (287, 286, 277 and 266), all of which have been set since the start of 2024. 

But while star openers Travis Head (66 from 31) and Abhishek Sharma (24 from 11) again got their team off to a fast start, it was a new recruit in the form of number three Kishan who did most of the damage.

In his first appearance for SRH after moving from Mumbai Indians, Kishan scored 106 not out from just 47 balls, hitting six maximums and 11 fours in a magnificent innings.

He batted through to the end, with Nitish Kumar Reddy (30 from 15) and Heinrich Klaasen (34 from 14) also joining the party.

Kishan reached his first IPL century in his 100th innings and his 106th match overall, having previously got to fifty on 16 occasions in the competition without making it to three figures.

"I just feel good, it [the first century] was coming!" he told Jiostar. "I was hoping for it in the previous years, but it's good to get it this season. 

"The team is doing well, the environment is very different. I'm just loving everything overall, let's just try and get a few more innings like this for the team."

Kishan was full of praise for Abhishek and Head, who lit up last season's competition at the top of the order for SRH, helping them to the final where they ultimately lost out to Kolkata Knight Riders.

"When Abhishek and Head started, they gave a lot of confidence to us batters in the dugout," Kishan added. "Credit goes to them also. 

"It gives a lot of benefit to the No. 3 and No. 4 batters, as you can take a few balls if you want, but whenever you get such good starts, you just have to go.

"The pitch was really good, we were just trying to get them under pressure at any point of time, trying to get all their best bowlers to bowl [earlier], so that worked our way."

Kishan also praised captain Pat Cummins, adding: "The skipper, he's giving a lot of freedom to everyone.

"It doesn't matter if you get a lot of runs or if you get out early – it’s all fair if you're doing everything for the team. That's the confidence every player needs, so hats off to him and the management.

"To be very honest, the nervousness was there; I won't deny that, but Pat and the coach gave us a lot of confidence. I just enjoyed my time in the middle. The preparation was very good, and I'm feeling confident.

"Pat and the coach are talking about enjoying it, and saying 'just play your game'."

It was a miserable scorecard for the Royals, with England bowler Archer (0-76) faring worst in a miserable IPL return. 

He was smashed for four maximums and 10 fours, now holding the unenviable honour of the most expensive bowling figures in tournament history.

Ate and left no crumbs

Ishan Kishan | #PlayWithFire | #SRHvRR | #TATAIPL2025 pic.twitter.com/SFq2Qj1vA6

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) March 23, 2025

Given Rajasthan lost Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag early on, they made a decent fist of an almost impossible run chase, eventually reaching 242-6 from their 20 overs.

Dhruv Jurel scored 70 and impact player Sanju Samson struck 66 as the Royals began life after Jos Buttler, but this was SRH’s day, with Harshal Patel (2-34) the pick of the bowlers.

"When you have almost 290 on the board, the game becomes easier!" said Harshal, per ESPN. "We were pretty happy with it and felt we were better with execution barring a few overs.  

"That's the way our batters like to play, aggressively, and we complemented it by being defensive. But it all depends on the game. There will be times we'll need to go hard at the stumps and bowl conventionally, but [286] makes our job easier.

"It's tough as a bowler here. I don't remember any ground being easy for bowlers in the IPL in the last couple of years.

"The wicket is true, the ground is small and the mindset of batters has changed significantly in a couple of years. They're not afraid to take risks."

Royals skipper Parag will be targeting a quick response at home to KKR on Wednesday.

"It was tough, as I'd expected," he said. "Credit to SRH, but we could've executed better. We'll sit down and chat on how we could do better. 

"We could've restricted them more. At the toss I said 200 or something like that, [but even] 220 to 240 would have been a good score to chase down."

The second day of the 2025 tournament will be remembered for Kishan’s knock, with SRH taking huge momentum into another home match against Lucknow Super Giants on Thursday.

Cummins said: "Ishan was incredible. The preparation has been amazing, our coaches have been fantastic and everyone has come fit and firing."