By Cameron Clark
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore at Abu Dhabi
As we now head into the eliminator games, David Warner and co are looking more promising with a three-game win streak coming into today’s game whereas their opponents captained by Virat Kohli are on a four-game losing streak, can they change their luck today?
So the Sunrisers have won the toss and have put Royal Challengers into bat first, going off of the last game it is a sensible choice for the Sunrisers.
We see four changes for RCB as Adam Zampa, Moeen Ali, Aaron Finch and Navdeep Saini come in for Chris Morris, Josh Philippe, Isuru Udana and Shahbaz Ahmed. Whereas SRH make one change after losing the in-form man Wriddhiman Saha for Shreevats Goswami.
The question is answered,Virat Kohli is opening the batting with Aaron Finch put down the order to three.
So here we go the first over with Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal to open the batting with Sandeep Sharma bowling.
5-0 – After the first over Kohli and Padikkal rotate the strike and score five off the over, they need to use this powerplay to their advantage
7-1 – WICKET – Jason Holder gets the big man Virat Kohli as he bowls a ball at the Indian captain’s waist and the extra bounce can allow the keeper to take an easy catch. The top-order change has not worked a huge blow for RCB early on.
9-1 – After the great start to the over more pressure is on Finch after he can’t get Holder away until the last ball of the over.
10-1 – A solid over from Sandeep only just letting one run go by for the whole over the Sunrisers have started positively with a good presence in the field .
15-2 – WICKET- This is going from bad to worse for RCB as they lose their up and coming prospect in Padikkal. It is that extra bounce that is causing the issues for them after Holder gets that extra bounce into the ground and a catch taken well by Priyam Garg.
15-2 – After a good start to the over with a four by Finch it didnt materialise after that as Holder took that crucial wicket but RCB look all over the place at the moment.
23-2 – RCB start to get going after Finch and AB de Villiers rotate the strike and then on the last ball Finch dispatches Sandeep through the covers for four but Thangarasu Natarajan comes in for the last over of the powerplay.
32-2 – RCB start to tick over with the singles flowing in and at the end of the over again Finch edges it down to third man where they were brought forward and gets the four and now Shahbaz Nadeem is to come into the attack.
37-2 – A class and mature over from Nadeem as he only lets five singles come off the over. This can be where the game is won with both teams spinners coming in to cause some mayhem and the Sunrisers have now brought in the exceptional spinner of Rashid Khan.
39-2 – End of the eighth over and Rashid just brings that low economy rate that the Sunrisers need with only two off the over but not surprising as the RCB have a run rate of under seven in the middle overs.
45-2 – The spin brothers are in and in full effect after only six singles coming off the over. With this run rate they are only projected to hit 100 runs and now a timeout is called by the umpire.
52-2 – A huge SIX is hit out the ground by Finch, could this partnership start to create the fightback?
54-2 – End of the ninth over and Rashid took some hits with nine runs coming off the over and also a partnership of 39 building for Finch and De Villiers.
56-3 – WICKET – after looking like a good batting return for Finch he tries to go after Nadeem and puts it up right in the air for Abdul Samad to come under and take the catch as Finch departs for 32.
62-4 – WICKET – I don’t know what I have witnessed. Moeen Ali has a free hit and hits the ball straight to Rashid who runs him out, RCB are in a shambles at the moment, a change is needed.
65-4 – What an eventful over, with two wickets coming, a free hit and still 12 runs taken off the over. RCB are looking to be in real trouble.
68-4 – What a player Rashid is, when he is not running someone out he is there bowling spin and keeping the consistency to a tee only letting three runs off the over again with a low economy rate.
76-4 – End of the 13th over and that was a better over for RCB as De Villiers starts the over off with a four and produces eight runs off the over with him moving to 31 off 29 deliveries. Can he lead a charge against the Sunrisers?
85-4 – This is where we start to see de Villiers kick on as we see him flash the bat for 4 through cover and also quick running between the wickets allows nine runs to be scored from the over.
93-4 – And the magician that is Rashid is now bowled out for the night but De Villiers is closing in on his half-century with him sweeping Rashid for four through the leg side and gives eight runs through the over and now we have the return of Holder.
99-5 – WICKET for Sunrisers and Holder again as Shivam Dube departs after a leading edge flies into the sky and Warner takes the catch as the umpire calls for a timeout.
104-5 – 50 for de Villiers after a class hit through mid-wicket for four runs and that brings up his 50 and also the 100 for RCB can he make the change to the game? At the end of the over they take 11 runs from the over,their first double figure tally tonight.
111-5 – The end of the 17th over as Sandeep comes back on to have seven runs come from the over and now this is where we should see AB de Villiers take away more runs now.
111-6 – WICKET as the Sunrisers take another wicket as Washington Sundar tries to be expansive with his shots but only picks out the man coming in on the edge of the boundary a great start to the 18th over for Natarajan.
113-7 – WICKET and there’s pandemonium at the death as Natarajan gets his second of the over a big big blow for RCB as its the big man AB de Villiers could that have won the Sunrisers the game there and then.
113-7 – The end of the 18th over and that is something else by bowling at the death like that and only conceding two runs and gaining two wickets in the process Natarajan and Holder have created the opportunity for the Sunrisers to win.
118-7 – The end of the 19th over as Holder keeps RCB to singles and only five of them he has been a class act tonight taking three wickets and also keeping a low economy.
131-7 – That’s the final over of the first innings as they get 13 runs off the last over but a below-average score by RCB on this surface but it was a great bowling performance by the Sunrisers especially Holder and Natarajan who would gain five wickets combined to help the Sunrisers target 132.
So the Sunrisers are coming out to bat with Warner and Goswami facing up to Mohammed Siraj for RCB, this needs to be a tightly kept field to have any chance.
2-1 – WICKET well well well then this may be closer than people thought as Goswami is caught behind after a slight edge off the bat that’s a great start for RCB as he goes for a duck.
2-1 – end of the first over and what a start for RCB taking a wicket and only limiting to two runs from the start can they create a fightback for this eliminator?
4-1 – end of the second over and it’s nice and compact from Saini in his bowling by only conceding two runs again from the same over but the Sunrisers are looking shaky.
13-1 – Wow wow wow what a hit by Manish Pandey as he dispatches the ball into the stands for six and also to finish off the over a couple of singles with nine runs taken from that over.
23-1 – This is the charge of the Sunrisers as there is two fours hit in the over with Warner and Pandey getting one each Saini gets hit for 10 off that over it had been a good start for RCB but this could be the turning point early on.
35-1 – Sundar had taken some treatment in that over with Pandey finding the gaps through the field and scoring 12 runs from that over but the Sunrisers are looking in control and comfortable.
43-2 – WICKET Big call from Siraj as its a great ball to Warner and it gets him all kind of trouble its a real close one with the 3rd umpire taking a long time to decide this is a pivotal moment. It has been given which is controversial as it looks very harsh to be given with all the elements there but Siraj gets his man, Warner is furious with himself.
48-2 – Big over here as this could be a turning point within the game as there is first of all 13 runs scored off the over with three fours being hit, two by Warner and one being leg byes but the more controversial decision was to give the Australian out which looked very close to the pad, glove and shirt. That’s the end of the powerplay.
49-2 – Here comes the spin after the powerplay with Zampa coming into the attack and only conceding one run through the over it is starting to get the batsmen as they are starting to get reckless.
54-2 – That’s the eighth over done and both sides have spin now with Yuzvendra Chahal only letting five runs come off the over but the longer the run rate is low this could be a tense finish.
55-3 – WICKET here come RCB on the charge as Pandey the danger man is caught behind by AB de Villiers and the Sunrisers look to be in a world of trouble.
55-3 – Zampa take a bow as that is one quality over after dismissing Pandey he only concedes one run from the over that could start to put fear into the Sunrisers.
60-3 – The spin is still keeping the run rate lower than needed with Chahal only giving away five runs but it is setting up to be a tense finish halfway through the overs now.
64-3 – Another quality over by Zampa as he only concedes four runs from the over and keeping his economy rate to two per over and this is keeping the Sunrisers down to the required run rate as it creeps up further and further.
67-4 – WICKET and its the spinner to spinner as Chahal puts a slower ball down to Garg who tries to go big but he doesn’t have enough power on it and Zampa is in the deep to take the catch this is looking to be a close call. Who would you call to win this now?
68-4 – After the 12th over Chahal takes a wicket and only gives away four runs again keeping the game close to RCB but now there are two highly experienced batsmen in there with Kane Williamson and Holder at the crease but Williamson needs to have a better strike rate here.
72-4 – The run rate is starting to creep up after the 13th over as only another four is scored from the over and maybe there might start to be a little bit of doubt in the minds of RCB.
81-4 – that’s a lot better from Williamson as he dispatches Sundar over mid-wicket and long-on as the spinner gives away nine runs the most for a while in this game.
87-4 – In the 15th over Zampa is back on and he goes at Holder and Williamson straight away with Holder chipping the ball into a gap but anywhere else could cause an issue but now Zampa has bowled out and what four overs they were.
97-4 – Just when you think that the Sunrisers were looking like they were gonna need a big over Williamson peppers the ball over mid wicket and into the road with a monster six on the last ball against Chahal. This is gonna go down to the wire.
104-4 – Dube comes into the attack for the 17th over and he keeps it calm and compact even though he gets hit for four there is still dot balls which add up to seven runs for the whole over and the run rate keeps on climbing we are now up to over nine per over needed.
114-4 – This over has had it all a catch that is then put down so the fielder can save the six and then Williamson showing class when he diverts the ball into the gap down to 3rd man and gains another four he is closing in on his 50. This is getting tense the Sunrisers need 18 off of 12 balls left.
119 – 4 – And that’s the 50 partnership for the experienced duo and they can see this home together with only 12 needed.
123-4 – In the penultimate over Siraj does well when bowling at the death here and he puts the pressure on the Sunrisers with only six balls left and in need of nine runs and also Williamson one-off 50 can they do it?
124-4 – 50 that’s the fifty for Williamson as he produces a mature innings and got 50 for 44 balls with a class batting innings.
128-4 – Holder crunches the ball through the covers and gets it away for four what a quality end to this game.
132-4 – That’s it Holder squirms the ball through point and the ball flies to the boundary they made it hard but the Sunrisers win by 6 wickets and go through to the next eliminator.
