Royal Challengers Bangalore produced one of their best performances this season, registering a 67-run victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad. It was a case of returning the favour for RCB, who had lost to the Orange Army in their previous encounter two weeks ago.
This victory would result in the RCB net run rate coming back up, an important factor as the playoff battle heats up. Hyderabad have suffered their fourth losses in the last four games after an excellent run earlier this season. This loss puts their playoff chances in jeopardy, with their game in hand being their only saving grace and perhaps a chance at the fourth spot.
The law of averages finally caught up to SRH captain Kane Williamson, who lost a toss after eight successive wins. His counterpart Faf du Plessis decided to bat first on a Wankhede pitch that is a little less worn out than the other wickets, but a huge mishap on the very first ball saw RCB lose Virat Kohli for yet another golden duck.
Rajat Patidar, however, who walked in at number three, showed a lot of calm and poise. He and du Plessis played well to rebuild the RCB innings. The two batted until the 13th over, when Rajat Patidar, having completed his job to perfection, walked back after an attempted heave went straight to Rahul Tripathi at deep mid-wicket.
Talisman all-rounder Glenn Maxwell got off the blocks fairly quickly, scoring a few boundaries with his side aiming for a big score. He took charge for the next few overs as the skipper stuck around at the other end, happy to rotate the strike as the Aussie attacked. However, he could not complete the job, getting dismissed in the 19th over off the supremely talented Kartik Tyagi.
Nevertheless, Maxwell’s dismissal did not turn out to be the worst outcome for RCB. Veteran Dinesh Karthik’s fabulous season went to bigger heights. A total of 175 was what RCB were looking at with four balls remaining in the innings, but some remarkable ball striking from DK propelled the innings to a score of 192/3. He scored 22 off the last four deliveries.
The Sunrisers’ innings began much like that of the Royal Challengers. Williamson was run out off the very first ball without facing a single delivery. Maxwell piled on the misery on the Sunrisers as he cleaned up Abhishek Sharma in the first over, reducing them to 1/2 in the first over.
Tripathi and Aiden Markram looked to stabilise the Hyderabad innings, but it was only Tripathi who looked at all comfortable in the middle, with Markram struggling to score freely. The two did add 50 for the third wicket, but the South African was dismissed soon after.
Nicholas Pooran was also a victim of Wanindu Hasaranga, as he departed for just 19. The RCB bowlers did a fabulous job of choking the Sunrisers batsmen for runs, forcing them to take risks. Aussie veteran Josh Hazlewood got rid of Rahul Tripathi, who had scored a fine half-century on a day when most of his teammates failed. It only went downhill for the Sunrisers from that point forward. Hasaranga’s five-fer meant that Hyderabad innings collapsed for just 125, giving the RCB a massive 67-run victory.
Brief scores
Royal Challengers Bangalore 192 for 3 (du Plessis, 73*, Patidar 48, Suchith 2-30) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 125 (Tripathi 58, Hasaranga 5-18, Hazlewood 2-17) by 67 runs
