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It was a do-or-die game for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, as they hosted table toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Williamson won the crucial toss and decided to field. Sunrisers began really well as Sandeep Sharma dismissed Parthiv Patel in the last ball of the first over.
Kohli hit some crisp drives but fell to Rashid Khan. De Villiers, who was promoted to number three, was still going strong as RCB reached 44 for 2 in six overs.
Moeen Ali walked in at four and he along with De Villiers began to resurrect the RCB innings. The fours and sixes began to flow as runs were coming with ease. De Villiers and Moeen brought up a sensational 100-run partnership, as Bangalore eyed a total in excess of 200.
Williamson turned to Rashid, and the young Afghani delivered the goods, as he sent both De Villiers and Moeen Ali in the space of three balls to bring SRH back into the game.
De Grandhomme and Sarfaraz played brilliant cameos, as RCB finished on a healthy 218 for 6 in 20 overs.
Chasing a daunting 219, Dhawan and Hales gave the visitors a flying start but, fell to Chahal when the score read 47.
Hales fell to a stunning catch in the deep by De Villiers, as SRH slipped to 64 for 2 in the eighth over. Williamson kept Sunrisers in the game with some flawless shots as he raced to a fine fifty.
He along with Pandey batted superbly as a wonderful 120+ partnership gave SRH hope of chasing the target. Williamson fell in the final over, as Siraj held his nerve and hand RCB a 14-run win. With this win, RCB stays alive in the tournament.
Let's take a look at the reasons behind SRH’s loss to RCB.
#1 AB De Villiers - Moeen Ali partnership
When RCB were put into bat, they lost Parthiv Patel and Kohli inside the powerplay overs. They needed something extraordinary by De Villiers and Moeen Ali, and that's exactly what happened.
De Villiers and Moeen joined hands and began to torment the bowling, as SRH were left clueless.
De Villiers smashed a fine 69 off just 39 balls, while Moeen Ali scored a brilliant 65 off just 34 deliveries, as they stitched together a fantastic 107 runs partnership which helped RCB to a mammoth 218 runs.
In the end, that partnership proved pivotal, as RCB won. Top effort by De Villiers and Moeen!
#2 De Grandhomme and Sarfaraz's exceptional cameos
RCB were cruising at 145 for 2 in just 14 overs, as they looked set for a 200+ score. Then came Rashid Khan and he dismissed both the set players, De Villiers and Moeen, and RCB’s hopes dented.
They needed a late flourish and thankfully for them, De Grandhomme along with Sarfaraz, gave RCB the perfect finish.
De Grandhomme blasted 4 humongous sixes and one four in his 17-ball 40 runs cameo, while young Sarfaraz scored 22 runs of just 8 balls, as Bangalore plundered 69 runs of the final five overs to finish on an impressive 218 for 6.
It proved crucial in the end, as RCB won a thriller.
#3 Chahal's economical spell
In a high scoring game where it was not easy to be a bowler, Chahal stood tall and bowled an exceptional spell.
He was tossed the ball in just the fourth over and gave away only five singles. Kohli bowled him another one in the powerplay and the move paid off, as Chahal got the better of Dhawan.
It was a crucial wicket in the context of the game, as SRH were flying high and RCB needed a breakthrough. Chahal ended up with brilliant figures of one for 28 in four overs.
On a night where most bowlers went to the cleaners, Chahal’s economical spell was very crucial.
#4 Southee's brilliant 17th over
RCB needed to bowl well, but Williamson and Pandey's flawless partnership threatened to spoil the hosts’ party.
SRH seemed to be cruising and needed 55 runs of four overs, with eight wickets in hand. Then came the game-changing over which turned the match on its head.
Southee hit the right lengths on all of his six deliveries and conceded only six runs. He did not manage to pick up a wicket but, pushed the run rate further up.
It got to a point, which made Williamson perish in the final over to Siraj, and in the end, RCB pulled off a wonderful victory to stay alive. Southee's 17th over was very crucial in RCB clinching a victory over SRH.
