Hi, I’m William Munt and this afternoon I will be taking you through the Indian Premier League (IPL) clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. 10 days ago, Travis Head blasted a sensational century as Sunrisers recorded the highest IPL score of 287 – 3 from their 20 overs against RCB. Will the bottom placed side gain their revenge today or will third place Sunrisers continue their charge towards the play-offs? Stay with me to find out!
The toss has already taken place in Hyderabad and the visitors have chosen to bat, as they continue their search for a second win of the season. With relatively short boundaries and a seemingly flat pitch, it seems that we’ll be in for another run-fest in Hyderabad.
Sunrisers make just one change from their 67 run victory over Delhi Capitals last time out, although the man to drop out, Travis Head, is predicted to come on as an impact sub when Sunrisers bat later on in the game. Meanwhile, the visistors’ starting XI is unchanged from their agonising one run defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders last time out.
The teams are out and Abhishek Sharma will open the bowling for the Sunrisers with some part-time left-arm spin.
RCB 10 – 0 from 1 over: Virat Kohli flicks the first ball of the game for its first boundary, after Sharma drifts onto his pads. The rest of the over sees Kohli and his South African partner Faf du Plessis exchange singles, until Kohli works space for two into the legside as RCB amass 10 from the first over.
RCB: 15 – 0 from 1.3 overs: The warning signs are there already for the bowlers after just nine balls of the game. Du Plessis’ imperiously strokes Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s first delivery away to the boundary for another four, with the ball racing away across the lush outfield. After a good recovery from Kumar, du Plessis then hits two more fours to end the over, chipping over over the legside infield and crisply forcing another through the offside.
After a positive start from RCB, the Sunrisers captain Pat Cummins brings himself on to bowl. The Australian will be hoping to both slow down the run rate and pick up his side’s first wicket.
RCB: 32 – 0 from 2.2 overs: However, Kohli takes Cummins for eight runs from his first two balls, putting the pressure right back on the Australian. He dances down the track first ball and launches Cummins away over deep mid-wicket, before flaying him over cover for another boundary. The pitch looks very flat and du Plessis gets in on the act later on in the over, ramping Cummins innovatively for six and then pulling behind square for a couple. Du Plessis has struck the first blow in this captain to captain battle and Sunrisers are already looking in trouble as RCB race to 43 – 0 from the first three overs.
RCB 48 – 0 from 3.4 overs: Cummins shuffle his pack again, with Thangarasu Natarajan becoming the fourth bowler used by the Sunrisers so far today. Kohli greets him in the same style that over bowler has been met today, working his first delivery for four through mid wicket.
WICKET (Du Plessis: 25 from 12)! RCB 48 – 1 from 3.5 overs: Natarajan makes the first breakthrough for Sunrisers! Despite their great start, du Plessis keeps going hard and eventually meets his downfall. He tries to cut a short delivery from Natarajan over the offside, but can only succeed in slicing the ball up in the air for Aiden Markram to gobble up an easy catch. The RCB captain departs after a promising start, but Natarajan ultimately outwitted the experienced South African with a clever slower ball.
England’s Will Jacks is the new batter for RCB, fresh from his first IPL 50 last time out against Kolkata. Shahbaz Ahmed is the latest bowler to be handed the ball by Cummins and makes a positive start, even managing to find a hint of turning from a seemingly benign surface.
RCB 51 – 1 from 5 overs: The wicket of Du Plessis has just halted RCB’s momentum. Ahmed manages to escape from his first over without a boundary, conceding just two runs.
RCB 59 – 1 from 5.3 overs: Kohli breaks the shackles with a beautifully lofted six down the ground off of Natarajan. The former India and RCB captain looks in the mood today and will want to continue his streak of passing 50 on each of his last visits to Hyderabad.
Embed from Getty ImagesWill Jacks is fortunate to survive a run out attempt, when pushing for a quick single. RCB reach 61 – 1 at the end of the powerplay, a good start, but they would have wanted more after the start this man got them off to inside the first four overs.
WICKET (Jacks: 6 from 9)! RCB 65 – 2 from 7 overs: The pressure tells for RCB, as Jacks falls attempting an ill-advised slog sweep across the line off the bowling of leg-spinner Mayank Markande. That completes a great over for the Sunrisers, as he concedes just four runs and picks up the important wicket of the destructive Jacks. For RCB, it was the right idea for Jacks to keep going and look to find the boundary, however – the Englishman chose the wrong shot and paid the ultimate price.
In-form Rajat Patidar joins Kohli in the middle and instantly makes his intentions clear, thumping Ahmed down the ground for four from just his second delivery. RCB finish the eighth over on 73 – 2, with Ahmed drifting the ball into the pads of Kohli and half-appealing for LBW, but the ball was going down leg.
RCB 81 – 2 from 8.3 overs: After a brilliant first over, Markande is brought right back down to earth by Patidar, who launches him for an impressive straight six. There seems to be little doubt about the way RCB are going to play, as they look to amass a total that will intimidate Sunrisers’ fearless batting line-up.
The umpire indicates the start of the two and a half minute strategic time-out following the conclusion of the ninth over. RCB will be satisfied with the start that they have made, however – they will need to significantly up their scoring rate going into the second half of their innings, if they are to truly test Travis Head and co.
Jaydev Unadkat, who had a stint with Sussex last season and is playing his 100th IPL game, is into the attack for Sunrisers. After a couple of singles to start the over, Patidar pulls Unadkat comprehensively for four, before there is slight confusion in the middle between the RCB batters, only for both to safely complete the single. A single from Kohli completes the over and ticks RCB onto 94 – 2 at the halfway stage – having set a decent platform, their power hitters lower down the order will now surely be looking to propel them to an unassailable total.
RCB 120 – 2 from 10.5 overs: Four sixes in a row from Patidar! The first is a beautiful shot over long off, after Markande attempts to drag Patidar wider, but only succeeds in giving Patidar the room to strike him over the top. Patidar’s second six is slightly more fortunate, as a skier just evades Markram at long-on, before he imperiously pulls Markande over mid-wicket and then lofts him over extra-cover to complete the set. He then rubs salt into Sunrisers’ wounds with a bit of old-fashioned cricket, working a single off his pads to keep the strike.
RCB 125 – 2 from 11.4 overs: Good captaincy from Cummins, who shoulders the responsibility himself and takes the ball. After the carnage of the last over, four singles from the first four balls allow Sunrisers to regain some control, with six singles eventually coming off the over. Cummins has bowled well, however RCB know that with the spin hitting prowess of Patidar and those to come, they can afford to respect his bowling and up the run rate against the spinners.
50 FOR RAJAT PATIDAR! With a single off Unadkat, Patidar moves to yet another half-century in this season’s IPL. Coming from just 19 balls, his innings has allowed RCB to regain some of the momentum that they lost after the wickets of Du Plessis and Jacks, whilst also taking the pressure off of Kohli at the other end.
WICKET (Patidar: 50 from 20)! RCB 130 – 3 from 12.3 overs: However, having just reached 50, Patidar departs from the next delivery that he faces! A hammer blow for Patidar and RCB given the form that he was in, but a wicket for Unadkat in his 100th IPL match. It was a rather innocuous delivery from Unadkat, but Patidar worked a low full toss straight to Abdul Samad on the square leg boundary. Either side of Samad and it was four, but Patidar has to depart.
50 FOR VIRAT KOHLI! The orange cap holder moves to yet another IPL half century with a single off of Ahmed. After a rapid start, he has just slowed down a little, but the innings of Patidar allowed him to just tick along at ease. However, with the fall of Patidar and Cameron Green new to the crease, Kohli will have to step it up a gear and take on the aggressor’s role from Patidar.
RCB 136 – 3 from 14 overs: Another good over from Ahmed sees just four runs come from it. In and amongst the big hitting, he has quietly gone about his business, conceding just 14 runs from his three overs. The umpire signals the start of the second strategic time-out, with both sides having lots to think about going into the final stages of RCB’s innings.
RCB 138 – 3 from 14.3 overs: Some good intent shown from Kohli, albeit with minimal rewards. RCB have lost all four of their games batting first so far this season and know that a big score will be required to prevent another loss.
WICKET (Kohli: 51 from 43)! RCB 140 – 4 from 14.5 overs: Unadkat picks up the big fish of Virat Kohli for the first time in T20 cricket! After a tight over, the pressure eventually pays off for the Sunrisers and Unadkat, with Kohli spooning a short ball straight to Samad at deep mid-wicket. Samad picks up a second catch of the evening, whilst Kohli is replaced in the middle by Mahipal Lomror. Despite scoring yet another 50, Kohli scored his runs at a strike rate of just 118.60, which is simply too slow in modern day T20 cricket and surely puts into question his participation for India at this year’s T20 World Cup, considering the explosive batting available to the Indian selectors?
RCB 152 – 4 from 15.4 overs: Cameron Green finally manages to get a couple of deliveries to the fence off of his international captain Cummins, bringing up RCB’s 150 with a pull to deep square leg for four. Cummins’ over eventually goes for 15 runs, with Lomror intentionally slicing the final delivery of the over for four. Going into the last four overs, RCB will need to bring the momentum gained in this over to post a score that they have a chance of defending.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhat do you think of this man’s innings today? Is it enough for him to keep churning out the runs or does he need to up his strike rate, when playing against such explosive batting sides?
WICKET (Lomror: 7 from 4)! RCB 161 – 5 from 16.3 overs: Unadkat picks up his third wicket of the game and Lomror has to depart. After moving deeper into his crease, the left-hander attempted to swing Unadkat away over the leg side, but could only pick out the Sunrisers captain, who took an impressive, tumbling catch.
RCB 166 – 5 from 16.5 overs: Dinesh Karthik joins Green in the middle and watches on from the non-striker’s end, as Green powers his third four through midwicket. The end of the over signals the end of Unadkat’s spell, with the Indian pace bowler coming away with very impressive figures of 3 – 30 and the scalps of Patidar, Kohli and Lomror.
RCB 173 – 5 from 17.4 overs: Changes of pace seem the way to go this evening, as Natarajan prevents Green and Karthik from finding the boundary in the first four deliveries. Known for his terrific yorkers, the Sunrisers bowler is mixing things up more and keeping the batters guessing. The over eventually ends up going for 12 runs, as Karthik manages to carve the final delivery over cover for four, but at this stage Sunrisers will take overs that go for less than 15 runs, considering RCB’s current score of 179 – 5 from 18 overs and their own batting resources.
RCB 187 – 5 from 18.2 overs: Green starts the penultimate over in perfect fashion, hitting Cummins for consecutive fours. The first is a crisp drive down the ground after Cummins narrowly misses his yorker, with the second being a forceful cut shot in front of square to the extra cover boundary. After Cummins forces a single, Karthik gets in on the act for RCB, as Cummins misses another yorker and provides the length for Karthik to squeeze a shoot down the ground, past the fielders in the ring.
WICKET (Karthik: 11 from 5)! RCB 193 – 6 from 18.5 overs: Karthik’s cameo is short and sweet! After twice missing his mark in the over on the full side, Cummins turns to the short ball strategy and picks up Karthik with a mis-timed pull shot that is comfortably claimed by Samad, running in from the boundary for his third catch of the night.
Swapnil Singh comes in as RCB’s impact sub, with Patidar being subsituted out for the final seven balls of RCB’s innings and Sunrisers’ chase. A single from Singh concludes the penultimate over, with RCB six shy of 200 going into the final over, which will surely need to be a massive one on their part, in order to make a game of it in the second innings.
RCB 204 – 6 from 19.3 overs: Singh brings up RCB’s 200 for the third consecutive game and gets the final over off to a perfect start for them. He dispatches his second delivery over wide long on for six, before slicing a delivery from Natarajan over deep point for four. RCB are gaining some much needed momentum going into the innings break.
WICKET (Singh: 12 from 6) AND END OF THE INNINGS! RCB 206 – 7 from 20 overs: Singh falls off the final ball, failing to capitalise on a full toss from Natarajan, only managing to slice it to Sharma running in from long off. Sunrisers will require 208 to win from their 20 overs and will be the happier of the two sides, given the rampant start that RCB got off to and the strength of their batting line up. The innings ebbed and flowed from one side to the other, with RCB getting off to a flyer, before being reigned in by Sunrisers and then regaining the momentum through the innings of Patidar. Unadkat’s three scalps then stalled the visitors’ renewed momentum, before cameos from Green, Karthik and Singh helped them to breach 200. Stay tuned for the second innings, which will be coming shortly!
Elsewhere in the cricketing world today, Pakistan are hosting New Zealand in the fourth T20 International of their bilateral series at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. New Zealand are 148 – 4 from 16.2 overs after being asked to bat by the hosts, with Tim Robinson’s half century having helped his side get off to a fast start, before Pakistan reigned them in going into the back end of the innings. The series is currently tied at 1 – 1, with New Zealand pegging Pakistan back last time, after losing the second match and a rained off first affair.
Embed from Getty ImagesAlso, a head’s up for tomorrow’s cricket – the Kolkata Knight Riders play host to the Punjab Kings in the IPL, Pakistan Women host the West Indies Women in a T20 International and the fourth round of this year’s County Championship gets underway. There’s clearly a lot to look forward to!
Now, back to Hyderabad and it’s time for the run chase! Strap yourselves in as Abhishek Sharma and impact sub Travis Head stride to the middle for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Whatever happens, you won’t want to miss it, as I’m sure there won’t be a shortage of runs, wickets and exhilarating action. Why don’t you also let us know which way you think today’s game is going to go? Are you backing Sunrisers to continue on their merry way or will RCB finally get their second win on the board?
Embed from Getty ImagesWill Jacks is opening for the bowling for RCB, with his part-time right arm off spin having been scouted as a positive match up for RCB against the two Sunrisers (SRH) left-handers. This tactic failed during the reverse meeting, when Head hit a scorching hundred and both batters have got off the mark with singles early on this evening.
WICKET (Head: 1 from 3)! SRH 3 – 1 from 1 over: However, it’s worked today and Head is on his way back to the pavilion! This is a huge scalp for RCB – after a frustrating over from Jacks, Head attempts to go downtown off the final ball of the over, but Jacks cleverly flights the ball up and Head’s attempted slog sweep across the line skews into the air, before being safely pouched by Karn Sharma.
SRH 5 – 1 from 1.3 overs: RCB’s great start continues with Mohammed Siraj keeping Sharma and new batter Aiden Markram under control, in the early stages of the run chase. The ball doesn’t seem to be sliding onto the bat as smoothly as it was earlier, although Sharma manages to ease some of the pressure, by top edging a pull shot for four. RCB are right in this game and Sunrisers seemingly have a battle on their hands to continue their impressive home form going.
SRH 21 – 1 from 2.2 overs: Sharma has seen enough and decides to take on Jacks, early in his second over. He goes inside out over cover for four from the first ball of the over, before coming down the track and striking Sunrisers’ 100th six of the tournament over mid-wicket. After early pressure from RCB, Sharma is trying to reverse the momentum and put the pressure back on the visitors, whose bowling has been much maligned and heavily criticised this season.
SRH 31 for 1 from 3 overs: Jacks’ over ends in the worst possible fashion for RCB, as he drops short and is mercilessly pumped into the crowd by Sharma. The start of the Sunrisers innings has been almost the perfect opposite to the start of RCB’s innings, with Sunrisers bouncing back from an early setback, whereas RCB got off to a flier, before being pegged back.
STAT ATTACK: The last over was the 11th time Sunrisers have scored more than 20 in a powerplay over this season and the 26th time overall – Sharma also joined his teammate Heinrich Klaasen at the top of the six hitting charts with his 26th maximum of the tournament.
WICKET (Sharma: 31 from 13)! SRH 37 – 2 from 3.4 overs: The second half of Sunrisers’ dynamic opening duo departs and RCB have another huge wicket! Sharma attempts to pull a length ball from Yash Dayal to the boundary, but only succeeds in launching the ball up into the Hyderabad night sky, with Karthik calling the catch early and then comfortably claiming it with the gloves on, as Sharma departs. A good comeback from Dayal, after Sharma punished a full toss the previous ball to the boundary.
DROPPED CATCH! SRH 37 – 2 from 3.4 overs: Nithish Kumar Reddy is the new batter for Sunrisers and is almost straight on his way back to the pavilion! He advances down the track second ball and powers a shot straight back at the bowler Dayal, who was unable to cling on. A tough chance, but one RCB will need to take, if their fortunes are to change this tournament.
SRH REVIEW: Swapnil Singh is into the attack for RCB and sees Aiden Markram given out LBW from his second delivery. Markram receives the decision and faces a nervous wait, after missing a full toss when advancing down the wicket.
WICKET (Markram: 7 from 8)! SRH 41 – 3 from 4.2 overs: Nitin Menon is proved right by the technology and RCB claim their third wicket in the powerplay. It was a poor delivery from the RCB debutant Singh and Markram will be fuming on his way back to the pavilion, as he will both feel that he missed out on a boundary and got himself out.
SRH 49 – 3 from 4.3 overs: All of the pressure that RCB have built up is instantly released by some criminal cricket from Singh. After picking up the scalp of Markram, he bowls a front foot no-ball, which is almost unforgivable from a spinner, before tossing up a loopy full toss for the free hit, which Kumar Reddy duly dispatches into the crowd. The new batter Heinrich Klaasen then adds to Singh’s pain a couple of balls later by launching just his second delivery down the ground for six.
WICKET (Klaasen: 7 from 3)! SRH 56 – 4 from 5 overs: However, Singh gets his revenge next delivery and the pressure reverses once more back onto Sunrisers! Attempting to double down on his previous blow, Klaasen goes again, but the delivery from Singh is not quite as full and Klaasen can only spoon the ball up into the air, where it is claimed by the buckets of Cameron Green at mid on. An expensive first over from Singh, but also an extremely rewarding one for RCB – spin is proving to be the difference maker for RCB so far today.
SRH 62 – 4 from 6 overs: A quiet over from Siraj concludes the powerplay and it has no doubt gone in favour of RCB. Although Sunrisers are up with the run rate, their four star batters of Head, Sharma, Markram and Klaasen are all back in the pavilion. Kumar Reddy and new batter Shahbaz Ahmed face an uphill task to stay up with the run rate now, without losing further wickets and exposing the bowlers earlier than they would like.
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter a cameo with the bat, Swapnil Singh’s dream debut is continuing. His first over went for 19 runs, with a no ball and two sixes, but he also claimed the South African duo of Markram and Klaasen, putting RCB firmly into the ascendency.
SRH 68 – 4 from 7 overs: A much quieter second over from Singh sees just six singles come from it. Kumar Reddy and Ahmed seem to be attempting to steady the ship, before upping the tempo later on in the innings, in pursuit of their target of 207.
WICKET (Kumar Reddy: 13 from 13)! SRH 69 – 5 from 7.2 overs: A fourth wicket falls to spin and the Sunrisers are now in big trouble! Karn Sharma is brought into the attack and strikes with just his second legal delivery. Kumar Reddy attempts an ambitious switch hit, but can only make contact with thin air and is clean bowled. An ill-advised shot given the circumstances, with Kumar Reddy departing and exposing the lower order to a pumped up RCB attack with more than 12 overs of the run chase remaining.
RCB look right up for it and are turning the screw, now that they are in front of the game. Captain Faf du Plessis implements a very attacking field for new batter Abdul Samad with a slip and silly point, as RCB continue to search for wickets and put Sunrisers under even more pressure.
SRH 79 – 5 from 8.2 overs: Despite the loss of five wickets, Sunrisers are continuing to go hard and Samad greets new bowler Lockie Ferguson with an imperious six straight down the ground. The required run rate is still well within Sunrisers’ reach and they are far from out of the game, even though RCB are well on top at the moment. Shahbaz Ahmed then gets in on the act later on in the over, pulling a misguided Ferguson short ball round the corner for four, as Sunrisers attempt to put the pressure back on RCB.
Umpire Nitin Menon signals the start of the strategic time-out at the conclusion of the ninth over. RCB will be by far the happier of the two sides, but will still be wary of the damage that Samad, Ahmed and co. can cause, going into the later stages of the innings.
WICKET (Samad: 10 from 6)! SRH 85 – 6 from 9 overs: The curse of the break in play strikes again! Abdul Samad cannot believe what he has done and stares down at the pitch in disbelief. The first ball after the time-out, he advances down the track to the leg-spin of Karn Sharma, but stops on his shot and chips a routine catch back to the tumbling Sharma. RCB are now going on the attack once more, with a short leg in post for the new batter Pat Cummins, who is off the mark with a couple off his pads.
SRH 89 – 6 from 10 overs: Spin bowling at its finest from Karn Sharma, who continues to both pick up wickets and bowl miserly overs. Cummins can bat and has played some valuable knocks for Australia in the past 12 months to prove this, but surely a required run rate of 11.8 in the last 10 overs is too much even for him?
SRH 98 – 6 from 10.5 overs: Swapnil Singh returns to the attack and after a few uneventful deliveries almost picks up a third wicket. However, Cummins’ pull shot just sails over the top of Green on the deep mid-wicket boundary for six, before Cummins then adds salt to Singh’s wounds with a monster six down the ground. Regardless of what RCB throw at them, Sunrisers continue to just about stay in the game and throw some punches themselves, when it seems that they are pinned back on the ropes.
SRH 115 – 6 from 11.3 overs: Cummins is off to a flyer and has moved on to 26 from just eight deliveries! Karn Sharma drops short on two occasions, with Cummins working the first delivery round the corner for four, before dispatching a second short delivery into the stands. The Australian once hit a half century in 14 balls for the Kolkata Knight Riders and looks to be in a similarly aggressive mood tonight.
SRH 122 – 6 from 12.4 overs: Yash Dayal returns to the attack and brings some calm to the proceedings. Sunrisers can only managed singles and dot balls from the start of his over, whilst it seems clear that Cummins is relying on his hitting of spin to do most of the heavy lifting, if Sunrisers are going to get anywhere near to RCB’s total.
WICKET (Cummins: 31 from 15)! SRH 124 – 7 from 13.1 overs: Great captaincy from Faf du Plessis and Cummins’ cameo is over! Having seen Cummins’ ability to hit spin into the stands, the RCB captain turns to the part-time seam of Cameron Green, with the plan working immediately, as Green digs his first legal delivery into the pitch and Cummins only manages to spoon the ball into the air, with Siraj taking a comfortable catch. Green’s dominance of his national team captain today continues, after his earlier runs off of Cummins in the first innings. Green almost picks up his second wicket with the short ball, as he strikes new batter Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the gloves, but the ball just drops in front of the dive of wicketkeeper Karthik.
RCB REVIEW: Cameron Green convinces du Plessis that Kumar has got a tickle on an attempted slog sweep through to Karthik off Karn Sharma. Nobody else seemed to hear a noise and the umpire’s original decision is swiftly upheld.
DROPPED CATCH! SRH 131 – 7 from 14.5 overs: To rub salt into Green’s wounds, he drops a catch at slip next ball. Sharma tosses the ball up and Kumar goes for a big drive, but can only edge the ball high to Green at slip. The tall Australian throws up a right hand, but the ball doesn’t stick and Kumar then lofts the next delivery for four to complete an awkward couple of minutes for Green.
The umpire indicates the second strategic time-out of the innings, which gives me time to update you on the game between Pakistan and New Zealand in Lahore. Pakistan are 92 – 4 from 12 overs in their pursuit of the visitors” target of 179, with Fakhar Zaman and Iftikhar Ahmed currently unbeaten on 30 and six respectively.
We’re into the last five overs here in Hyderabad, with the hosts requiring a mammoth effort to pick up another victory. Anuj Rawat has come on to replace the injured Karthik with the gloves for RCB and almost has an opportunity straight away, but an edge from the bat of Kumar flies away for four, with Kumar making it back to back fours off Green with a swivelling pull shot to the boundary next ball.
WICKET (Kumar: 13 from 13)! SHR 141 – 8 from 15.5 overs: A second catch for Siraj and a second wicket for Green, as RCB continue to march towards just their second victory of the season. Kumar departs, after clipping a leg stump delivery straight into the waiting hands of Siraj at mid-wicket. The writing is now surely on the wall for Sunrisers and RCB seem set to become the first team to breach fortress Hyderabad this season, as Jaydev Unadkat joins Shahbaz Ahmed in the middle.
SRH 143 – 8 from 16.5 overs: The Sunrisers now seem resigned to their fate today, as the required run rate climbs to more than three runs per ball. Siraj completes a tidy over that goes for just three runs, with Shahbaz Ahmed happy to just knock the ball around, rather than go for the big shot. Although the result of today’s game seems to be decided, will Sunrisers pay later on in the competition if they just tick along now, rather than trying to score some runs and boost their net run rate?
SRH 150 – 8 from 17.2 overs: Shahbaz Ahmed seems to have realised that it’s better to be bowled going for runs, than to use up all of Sunrisers overs ticking along at three or four runs per over. He welcomes Ferguson back into the attack with a forceful pull shot for six into the legside, before being denied another boundary by an athletic and brave diving stop on the boundary from Jacks. Unadkat then gets in on the act later on in the over, using Ferguson’s pace to help a pull shot down to the fine leg boundary.
SRH 163 – 8 from 19 overs: The game is just petering out at the back end here, with RCB now comfortably home and dry. Siraj’s last over is largely uneventful, with an unsuccessful review to overturn a wide and missed run out chance being the only points of note, however – the end of Siraj’s four overs for just 20 runs show that he may be returning to form at the right time from an Indian point of view, as the T20 World Cup approaches.
END OF THE INNINGS! SRH 171 – 8 from 20 overs: A protracted eight ball over from Yash Dayal finally ends the match, although it was long over as a contest. Shahbaz Ahmed fought valiantly and finishes unbeaten on 40 with Unadkat unbeaten on eight, but RCB ultimately ran out comfortable winners by 35 runs.
So, RCB finally win their second match of the tournament in the franchise’s 250th IPL match. At the halfway stage it seemed as if we could be in for a classic, but RCB’s spinners strangled Sunrisers’ powerful batting line-up and the visitors were never seriously troubled during the second innings. There were more runs for Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar earlier on in the game, as RCB amassed 206 – 7 from their 20 overs, with the Sunrisers batters failing to get going in comparison, meaning that they ultimately fell to their first defeat at home this season. For RCB, it’s still unlikely that they’ll make the play-offs, but they will undoubtedly gain confidence from this evening, whereas Sunrisers will simply have to dust themselves down and move on, as they search for a spot in the play-offs and ultimately their second IPL title continues. That’s it from me – thanks for sticking with me throughout the game and have a good evening!
