Picture : IPL / X
Desperate for a win and salvage some pride in their campaign, Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 35 runs in Tata IPL 2024 encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad.
Earlier, RCB Skipper Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to bat first . They needed a big total against the powerful SRH batting unit and the intent was clear from the start . Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli began positively . Faf du Plessis raced to 25 ( 12 balls, 3 fours , 1 six) before he fell at the total of 48-1, 3.5 overs. Virat on the on the other hand was in sublime form and living up to his ranking as the top run scorer in Tata IPL 2024 . Will Jacks fell for ( 6) .
SRH bowlers clawed their way back but Rajat Patidar’s explosive fifty took the game away from them . Patidar smashed 50 ( 20 balls , 2 fours, 5 sixes) and took the pressure off Virat Kohli. Virat though got to his fifty scoring 51 ( 43 balls , 4 fours, 1 six) his strike rate dipped slowly before he fell. Mahipal Lomror ( 7) , Dinesh Karthik ( 11) feel in quick succession as SRH hit back .
But fortunately for RCB big Aussie all- rounder Cameron Green finally came good and played nice cameo an unbeaten one 37 ( 20 balls 5 fours) , Swapnil Singh ( 12 ) was the last man out as RCB posted a challenging 206/ 7 in their 20 overs.
SRH bowling figures : Abhishek Sharma 0/ 10 ( 1 over), Bhuvneshwar Kumar 0/ 14 ( 1 over) Pat Cummins had a rare off day 1/ 55 ( 4 overs), T Natarajan 2/39 (4 overs), Shahbaz Ahmed 0/ 14 ( 3 overs) , Mayank Markande 1/ 42 ( 3 overs), Jaydev Unadkat 3/ 30 ( 4 overs). Pat Cummins strangely did not give another spell to Shahbaz Ahmed to complete his quote as he was bowling well .
In Reply SRH were off to a dismal start for the first time . In-form and explosive Travis Head out for ( 1). Abhishek Sharma began his usual aggressive way but did not last long 31 ( 13 balls , 3 fours, 2 sixes) with SRH total 37-2, 3.4 overs. Twins jolts hit SRH .
Aiden Markram has been struggling this time and yet another flop show out for ( 8) . Nitish Reddy was out for 13 . Dangerous Heinrich Klaasen too going through a horror run with the bat out for 7 .
The poor form’s of Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram are a big worry for SRH going ahead . The team management might be tempted to replace Aiden Markram with Glenn Philips unless he bounces back in the next match against CSK .
Abdul Samad was out for 10 . Skipper Pat Cummins played a nice cameo 31 ( 15 balls , 1 four, 3 sixes) , Bhuvneshwar Kumar ( 13 ) , Shahbaz Ahmed not out 40 ( 37 balls 1 four, 1 six) and Jaydev Unadkat not out 8 ensured that SRH were not bowled out but finishing at 171/ 8 in their 20 overs. RCB winning by 35 runs.
RCB bowlers were spot on with regular wickets : Will Jacks 1/ 23 ( 2 overs), Mohammed Siraj 0/ 20 ( 4 overs), Yash Dayal 1/ 18 ( 3 overs), Swapnil Singh 2/ 40 ( 3 overs), Karn Sharma 2/ 29 ( 4 overs), Lockie Ferguson 0/ 28 ( 2 overs), Cameron Green 2/ 12 ( 2 overs)
It was a much-needed result for RCB, who lost seven of their first eight games. The loss was SRH’s third in eight matches.
RCB Impact Player: Swapnil Singh replaces Rajat Patidar
SRH Impact Player: Travis Head replaces T Natarajan
Match: IPL 2024, 41st Match
Venue: Hyderabad | Date: April 25, 2024
