IPL 2019: 3 Close encounters between SRH and RCB at Hyderabad

All eyes will turn towards Hyderabad as 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad meet runners-up from the same year, Royal Challengers Bangalore, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on March 31 in IPL 2019.

Coming off a defeat against KKR in Kolkata, the hosts turned things around at home, as they beat Rajasthan Royals by five wickets.

The visitors, on the other hand, have suffered two consecutive defeats. While SRH will look to continue their winning momentum, RCB will be desperate to script a turnaround.

Though the pitch at Hyderabad is traditionally a low-scoring one, the RR-SRH match saw 400 runs being scored, setting the stage for a mouth-watering clash between the two South Indian teams.

Over the years, the venue has produced some of the best showdowns between the two sides. Here is a look at three close encounters between SRH and RCB at Hyderabad.

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#3 SRH beat RCB by 5 runs (Match 39 – 2018)

Rashid bowled AB De Villiers with a brilliant googly (Courtesy: iplt20.com)

The Royal Challengers Bangalore were coming into this match with a sword on their necks. They desperately required a win to solidify their position in the table and gun for a top 4 finish.

For a major part of the match, it seemed the visitors would pull off a win and stay alive in their IPL 2018 campaign. On yet another sluggish Hyderabad pitch, the hosts were finding it extremely tough to maintain a healthy run rate as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

In the end, it was skipper Kane Williamson, who yet again rescued the Sunrisers with his calculated knock of 56 (39), and propelled the side to a sub-par total.

For the visitors, the pace duo of Southee and Siraj displayed their variations and scalped three wickets apiece to give their batsman a relatively easy target of 147.

RCB got off to a wonderful start as they raced away to 55 in the powerplay, but on a slow pitch, the introduction of spin turned the tide in Hyderabad’s favour. The spin twins Shakib Al Hassan and Rashid Khan dealt deadly blows to the visitors as they dismissed their star batsmen Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers in consecutive overs.

A late flourish from Colin de Grandhomme brought the equation down to an easy 25 off three overs, but the Sunrisers’ death bowling came to the party. Toe-crushing yorkers from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddharth Kaul choked the visitors, who should have easily sealed the game.

Defending 11 in the last over, Kumar showed his mastery at the death as he gave away just six, thus handing his side a nail-biting victory by five runs.

Brief Score: SRH 146 (Williamson 56, Siraj 3/25, Southee 3/30) beat RCB 141/6 (Kohli 39, Shakib 2/36)

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#2 RCB beat SRH by 6 wickets D/L (Match 52 – 2015)

Kohli finished things off for RCB (Courtesy: iplt20.com)

2015 was a year where rain seemed to follow RCB everywhere they went. This match was no different. Rain first reduced the match to 11 overs a side, before yet another spell of steady showers reduced the second innings to just six.

Batting first, the hosts unleashed mayhem on the Bangalore bowlers as they smacked boundaries at will. The Australian right hand-left hand combination of David Warner and Moises Henriques smashed individual fifties, as the RCB bowlers found it tough to grip the wet ball.

With the drizzle intensifying into a downpour, Hyderabad's 135 in 11 overs was re-calculated to set RCB a target of 81 in six overs. With the required rate set an extremely challenging 13.5 and only six overs to bat, the visitors played high-risk shots without the fear of losing wickets.

Just when RCB were looking set to seal the match, Henriques returned with a stunning display of bowling to send back Gayle and De Villiers in the same over, thus bringing Hyderabad right back into the game. Virat Kohli although, motored on even as wickets tumbled from the other end.

The game could have gone either way as Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a dream start to the final over.

Defending just 13, the first two balls produced just one run with a wicket. Kohli then changed the course of the game as he carved two sublime boundaries off equally brilliant yorkers from Kumar.

The penultimate delivery of the innings saw a finish reminiscent of the Bollywood movie 'Lagaan', as David Warner caught Kohli at long-off, but stepped on the boundary cushion `to hand RCB a thrilling victory.

Brief score: SRH 135/3 (11 overs; Henriques 57, Warner 52, Wiese 2/20) lost to RCB 83/4 (5.5 overs; Kohli 44, Gayle 35, Henriques 2/3)

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#1 Match Tied - SRH beat RCB in Super Over (Match 12 - 2013)

Steyn showed all his experience in the Super Over (Courtesy: iplt20.com)

Playing only their second match, IPL newcomers Sunrisers Hyderabad were looking to make a mark in the tournament against heavyweights Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Batting first, the visitors succumbed to the bowling prowess of the new franchise as they could muster only 130 in their 20 overs - with Virat Kohli top-scoring with 46.

Though the game should have never gone till the super over, the SRH batsmen self-imploded, choking in the death overs to finish with exactly the same score as RCB.

Vinay Kumar, who bowled a brilliant final over, where he conceded just six, similarly started the Super Over on the right note, as the SRH batsmen could scramble just four runs off the first two deliveries.

Cameron White then swung the momentum towards the hosts as he muscled two sixes to power SRH to a mammoth 20 runs in the Super Over.

With Steyn to bowl the Super Over and the explosive duo of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli set to take strike, it was bound to be an incredible contest.

The South African though, displayed all his brilliance as his yorkers restricted RCB to only eight of the first four deliveries.

Gayle made things interesting as he blasted a huge six off the penultimate delivery. RCB required six off the last ball to tie the Super Over. With Gayle expecting yet another yorker, Steyn showed all his experience as he bowled a short-of-a-length delivery to bag the game for SRH.

Brief Score: RCB 130/8 (Kohli 46, Henriques 44, I Sharma 3/27) tied with SRH 130/7 (Vihari 44, Henriques 2/14) | In Super Over, SRH 20/0 beat RCB 15/0

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