IPL 2018, SRH vs RCB: Hits and Misses

In a must-win game, Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli called correctly at the toss and opted to field first. Hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad didn’t get off to the best of starts as they were reduced 48/3. But a very good resurrecting stand between skipper Kane Williamson and Shakib Al Hasan helped SRH get back on track.

Williamson scored an excellent 56 and Shakib made 35 but both of them fell early in the death and hence, the hosts couldn’t get the finish they wanted. SRH lost 7 wickets and scored 41 runs in the last five overs as they managed to reach 146 in their 20 overs. Barring Umesh Yadav who went at 9 runs an over, the RCB bowling was very good.

In their chase, RCB got off to a fast start as Parthiv Patel scored a quick 20. Virat Kohli then came in and looked in very good touch. But, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Moeen Ali were dismissed in consecutive overs and RCB were reeling at 84/5.

However, Colin de Grandhomme and Mandeep Singh kept RCB in the hunt. But some exceptional death bowling from SRH (Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddarth Kaul) helped the hosts climb to the top spot in the points table with 16 points.

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#5 Miss: SRH openers

The SRH openers failed to get going.

With David Warner not a part of this IPL, SRH were dealt a big blow as the Australian opener has been their best batsman in the last few years. Despite calling Alex Hales as a replacement, SRH went in with Billy Stanlake as their fourth overseas pacer.

But an injury to the tall Aussie pacer helped Hales make his debut and he did well in the two games he played. Shikhar Dhawan, on the other hand, started well but hasn’t been able to sustain that form.

Hales and Dhawan had opening stands of 17 and 76 in the two games they opened together. However, both the openers failed to get going in this game. On a slowish pitch, Hales was undone with a cross-seamer from Tim Southee who castled the England opener for just 5.

On the other hand, Dhawan struggled his way through to 13 as he played 19 deliveries before falling to the pull shot. Mohammed Siraj tested the 32-year-old opener with a short ball and Dhawan couldn’t control the pull shot and holed out to deep square-leg where Southee took an easy catch.

It was a disappointing outing for both openers as they combined to score just 18 runs.

#4 Hit: Mohammed Siraj

Siraj was excellent on his home ground.

Mohammed Siraj had a terrible start to this season. He had given away more than 8 runs an over in his first three games and failed to pick up a wicket. However, since the beating he took against CSK, he’s come back really well.

He has been consistent and economical since then. He’s taken 2 wickets in every game since then (except the CSK game in Pune). Playing on his home ground (Hyderabad), Siraj was RCB’s best bowler. He was brilliant throughout the game and took 3/25 in his 4 overs.

Coming in to bowl the 6th over, Siraj dismissed the key man Shikhar Dhawan with a good bouncer. He gave away just 6 runs in his first two overs before he conceded 11 in his third. But he bowled a very good 19th over where he picked up 2 wickets (Yusuf Pathan and Wriddhiman Saha) and conceded just 9 runs despite getting hit for a six off his third ball. He finished with his best figures this IPL.

#3 Miss: AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers was undone by the genius of Rashid Khan.

AB de Villiers had a wonderful start to this IPL. He had just one single-digit score in the first six games. However, since he returned from the viral fever, he’s struggled for timing. He scored just 1 in the last game and in this one, he was out for just 5.

He came out to bat after RCB good a decent start (60/2). But he made a scratchy 8-ball 5. He struggled to pick Rashid Khan’s variations and was eventually foxed by the wrong’un and he was castled going for the cut. It was de Villiers’ second successive low-score as he failed to take RCB home in a tricky run-chase.

#2 Hit: Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson has been brilliant in this IPL.

When David Warner was banned, SRH made Kane Williamson the captain. The New Zealander was not assured of a place if Warner played, but he was the captain and both as captain and as a batsman, he’s been excellent in this IPL.

He’s led from the front with the bat and has carried the SRH batting on his shoulders. He scored three consecutive fifties earlier in the tournament and also got a match-winning 63 against Rajasthan Royals. He got his fifth half-century of this season as he struck a wonderful 56 in this game.

He strode out to bat in the third over of the innings and looked to be in the zone right from the first delivery. He got a freebie first up which he put away to the fine-leg fence and got off the mark. And then with wickets falling around him, the New Zealand skipper put his head down and batted in typical fashion.

He rotated the strike well and pounced on anything loose. And just when the run-rate was dipping, Williamson changed gears. He hit 2 fours and 2 sixes in the span 7 deliveries to give SRH some impetus. However, he fell trying a cheeky sweep shot off Umesh Yadav.

But he had done his job as on a slow pitch, he batted beautifully and made a fine 56 and also climbed to the second spot in the leading run-scorers of this IPL as he became the second batsman to cross the 400-run mark.

And then again, his captaincy was brilliant as he marshalled his troops very well and made some vital bowling changes. He mixed and used his resources well as SRH defended 147.

#1 Hit: SRH pace attack

SRH were magnificent at the death as they defended 45 in the last five overs.

Sunrisers Hyderabad has been the best bowling attack in this season. They’ve defended a score every time they’ve batted first and their bowling attack once again proved why they are rated so highly as they defended an under-par total of 147.

But in this game, it was their fast bowlers who won them the game. The pace trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma were excellent as they had combined figures of 12-0-72-3.

Sandeep Sharma was very good as he completed his fours overs inside the 15th over and conceded just 20 runs. On the other hand, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddarth Kaul bowled two overs each upfront and then both bowled in tandem at the death, especially in the last three overs where they just gave away one boundary.

Kaul gave away just 7 runs in the 19th over leaving 12 runs for Bhuvneshwar to defend and the premier Indian pacer was spot on with his execution as the pace-duo choked RCB and helped SRH get their 8th win of the season.

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