The most anticipated clash of the first round of group clashes was played today as Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore locked horns against each other in what was a star-studded encounter.
In the end, however, it turned out to be a relatively one-sided encounter after the Challengers posted an unassailable target of 227. Amidst the carnage, Mustafizur stood tall like a mountain in a tempest as he gave away on 26 runs in the 4 overs that he bowled and got the wickets of the dangerous duo of AB de Villiers and Shane Watson.
David Warner started the chase incredibly, but perished at the hands of Watson after making a remarkable 58 runs off just 25 balls. After that, wickets kept tumbling before Ashish Reddy played a cameo, which too went in vain as the home team completed a 45-run win.
There were several moments in the match which don't fade away, just like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes. Here are 5 memorable ones:
#1 The wrath of Kohli and AB
Chris Gayle got out early, to the dismay of fans. Now they won’t see sixes being hit left and right… or would they? Yes, they would.
The top four batsmen of Royal Challengers Bangalore is what you would pick for your fantasy cricket team: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers and Shane Watson. Even multiple repetitions doesn’t suffice to make this sound less unbelievable.
So when Gayle departed early, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli took it upon themselves to give the crowd what they wanted.
In a partnership that last 13.3 overs, they scored an insane 157 runs combined—82 in 42 for ABD and 75 in 51 for Virat—making it a living nightmare for the SRH bowlers.
#2 Mustafizur’s fine debut
No-one would have thought that he was playing his first IPL game. On a flat deck like that of Bengaluru, not much can be expected from bowlers, and when all of your fellow bowlers give away more than 9 runs per over on an average in the game, you can just hope for the best.
Not Mustafizur, though, for he is not someone who throws in the towel after seeing a pitch that resembles glass. In a game where all of his partners weren’t spared, he ended up with figures of 26 for 2 and got the wickets of AB De Villiers and Shane Watson in the process.
A debut to remember for the young Bangladeshi paceman for sure.
#3 Sarfaraz Khan’s finish
When Mustafizur Rahman got the wickets of AB de Villiers and Shane Watson, the home team would have taken anything around 200. However, Sarfaraz Khan had other ideas as he ensured the Royal Challengers scored at least 25 runs more.
The 18-year-old took Bhuvaneshwar Kumar to the cleaners with his unorthodox shots as the former conceded 28 runs in the second last over of the game, undoing all the good work that the visitors had managed in the 18th over.
In the final over, he even got the better of in-form Mustafizur Rahman, smacking him for 13 runs and taking the score to a mammoth figure of 227, while individually scoring 35* in just 10 balls.
#4 David Warner’s gung-ho innings
The score set by RCB for the visitors to chase was a near impossible task. However, they had one man who could have achieved the impossible. And David Warner began in a fashion that had the home fans biting their nails.
As it turned out, he couldn’t come up with his best ever performance, unfortunately for him and his team, but he did play a fine knock to keep the crowd on the edge of their seats.
He was smacking the Royal Challengers’ bowlers like there was no tomorrow, scoring 58 off just 25 balls with 46 of those runs coming in boundaries. In the end, he fell to Shane Watson, but it was not before playing an entertaining innings, which ultimately wasn’t enough.
#5 Ashish Reddy’s late surge
By the time he came to bat, the match was already lost as Hyderabad needed 126 runs in just 51 balls. However, that didn’t stop him from trying. Some players would just see the overs out in such a situation, but not Ashish Reddy.
His bowling figures for the game were terrible, but he almost made it up by scoring 32 off just 18 balls—making sure that the match didn’t turn into a snoozefest after such a delightful first half.
On another day, with a score a little lesser, Hyderabad might as well have had a fighting chance due to his efforts. Today, however, RCB showed that their batting unit is just something else entirely—one that could win games on their own.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
