It wasn’t a cakewalk, but the taste of revenge would sure be sweet for Royal Challengers Bengaluru today, as the visitors clinched a 35-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad following a spirited fight from the hosts.
Both teams put up a slogfest as they went deep into their lineups, but it was not meant to be for Hyderabad today, whose top order collapsed unlike ever before this season.
RCB won the toss and elected to bat first, and du Plessis would have been happy with the start they got, as the skipper and Virat Kohli went on the attack to set their team up well.
But, timely wicket-taking from SRH bowlers proved to be the kryptonite for RCB, and it took a dazzling partnership between Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar, both of whom mustered up fifties of their own to bring hope to the RCB ranks again.
Patidar especially, was the ultimate jolt of energy and runs that RCB were craving as the batter came in to put up 50 runs off just 20 balls, as he lit up the Hyderabad skies on fire, with fives sixes.
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But, when the call for someone to step up with the ball arose, it was Jaydev Unadkat who shone with the ball, as he scalped both crucial batters and Mahipal Lomror in quick intervals to consistently pile the pressure on the visitors.
But, thanks to a cameo from Cameron Green, RCB mustered 206 runs in 20 overs, to put up what could be a fair total against a fiery SRH batting lineup.
To everyone’s dismay, the unexpected would unfold for SRH though, as Bengaluru wreaked havoc with the new ball out the gate.
Will Jacks started the onslaught, as he scalped Travis Head in the very first over, to set the tone.
Then, the likes of Yash Dayal and most importantly, Swapnil Singh followed suit as the top order of SRH, except for Abhishek Sharma, crumbled, and the hosts were poised at 56-4 within the fifth over.
Just when it seemed that SRH may be spared of any more misery, RCB’s ace in the hole came out in the form of Karn Sharma.
Karn bowled a magical spell, scalping two more wickets, in his first two overs, to push SRH to an abysmal 85-6.
SRH’s never-say-die attitude shone through next as skipper Pat Cummins came out to bat and packed a wallop, dealing only in boundaries as he took some of the pressure off Shahbaz at the other end.
Cummins put up a swashbuckling 31 runs in just 15 balls, before he was caught lacking by Cameron Green off a shorter and slower delivery, to sky one high and provide an easy catch.
This proved to be the nail in the coffin for Hyderabad, who despite Shahbaz Ahmed’s best efforts, produced too little too late as RCB clinched a 35-run win, only the second of their season so far.
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