Ben provides the ‘Cutting edge’ for SRH ar Bengaluru : Batting lower down the order and scoring an unbeaten 39* runs off just 15 deliveries with the help of 3 fours and 4 huge sixes, Ben Cutting helped Sun Risers Hyderabad (SRH) post a mammoth 208 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs.
He later on also went on to pick up the wickets of the danger man, Chris Gayle and KL Rahul at crucial times to put pressure on their opposition, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Earlier electing to bat, SRH had a decent start with the first wicket partnership between David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan (28), yielding 63 runs in 6.4 overs.
Warner and Yuvraj Singh added another 28 runs for the third wicket in 3.4 overs. Warner’s half century came in 24 balls aided by 5 fours and 3 sixes.
Eventually he departed after scoring a very valuable 69 runs off 38 deliveries with 8 fours and 3 sixes, trying to cut one from Srinath Arvind that dug in shorter and angled away from the off-stump. He slashed outside the off-stump that carried to Iqbal Abdullah at shot third-man, who took a simple catch.
Yuvraj Singh’s 38 runs off 23 ballsl with 4 fours and 2 sixes and Cutting’s cameo helped SRH set a target of 209 for RCB. Prior to this innings Cutting had scores of 18*, 14 and 8 from three games. He really pitched in and delivered when it mattered the most.
Chris Jordan was the most successful RCB bowler claiming the wickets of Moises Henriques (4), Yuvraj Singh and Bipul Sharma (5), giving away 30 runs in his 4 over spell.
Srinath Arvind ended with the analysis of 4-0-30-2 while Shane Watson was the most expensive bowler who gave away as many as 61 runs in 4 overs and went wicketlless.
The target was not an easy one to chase, however, given the batting power possessed by RCB (Gayle, Kohli, de Villiers) it appeared to be a possibility.
This was further affirmed by the explosive opening partnership between Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli. The duo went on to put 114 runs in 10.3 overs. Gayle literally punished every bowler and went on to score a huge 76 runs off just 38 deliveries studded with 4 fours and 8 sixes at 200.0 strike rate. Kohli was playing second fiddle while Gayle went on the rampage.
Just as things were falling in place for RCB and the game seemed to be slipping out of SRH, Warner brought back Ben Cutting, who had bowled 2 overs earlier, replacing Moises Henriques.
The second delivery of the 11th over, Cutting bowled one shortish cutter outside the off stump. Kohli slashed and the ball ballooned upto to Mustafizur Rehman at short third man but he failed to hold on as the batsmen crossed over.
The next was an off-cutter which foxed Gayle and he swung the bat a little too early. The ball took the top-edge and landed into the waiting hands of Bipul Sharma at third man.
Gayle reached the landmark of his second half-century of this season in just 25 deliveries with 3 fours and 5 sixes.
SRH heaved a sigh of relief having removed the danger man. However, Gayle was replaced by another batsman, AB de Villers, who was capable of taking the team across the line.
Kohli and de Villiers have always enjoyed each other’s company in the middle and were always complementing.
However, this joy was short-lived immediately after Kohli registered his seventh half-century of this season, which came in 32 balls, with 5 fours and 2 sixes.
Bowling the 13th over, Barinder Sran dug one short at Kohli, who had already stepped out of the crease to send the ball into the orbit, did not get enough room and succeeded only in dragging the ball onto his leg-stump through an inside edge.
Virat Kohli, missed the golden opportunity on being the first batsman to amass 1,000 runs in a season and was out for 54 runs off 35 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes. He fell short of the landmark by just 27 runs.
After Kohli’s departure at the team score of 140 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in 12.5 overs, wickets started falling in regular intervals. From the position of 140/2 in 12.5 overs, they lost 5 wickets in 5.4 overs adding only 54 runs.
AB de Villiers (5), KL Rahul (11), Watson (11), Binny (9) and Jordan (3) all succumbed under the pressure and withered away.
With 18 runs required off the final over, Bhuveshwar Kumar, the holder of the Purple Cap, ensured that that batsmen stayed quiet and gave only 9 runs and helped his team win the match by 8 runs.
Indian Premier League 2016 found a new champion in Sun Risers Hyderabad (SRH) ably led by David Warner with backroom support from Tom Moody, VVS Laxman and the smiling assassin, Muthiah Muralitharan.
For his brilliant performance with the bat and then with the ball, Ben Cutting was adjudged the Player of the Match, while RCB skipper, Virat Kohli, who had amassed 973 runs in the season was awarded the Player of the Series and also finished as the owner of the Orange Cap.
Speaking at the post match presentation, Cutting, who became the second overseas player to win the Player of the Match award in the title clash, said, “It was exciting to play in front of a big crowd. David Warner has set it up, like he has done all season. We won”t be standing here, if not for Davey. Bhuvi with the purple cap has been fantastic all season. That”s the thing about Bangalore. You can go the journey as the batsman and bowler.”
RCB skipper, Kohli said, “It (owning the Orange Cap) is a nice incentive, but it does not feel good to be at the other side of the result. Why Sunrisers won is because they have a strong bowling attack. I knew I was hitting the ball well and I just wanted to keep contributing. Why not, records are meant to be broken. (Four hundreds?) I surprised myself there. I opened the innings, someone batting at No.3 or No.4 may not have scored much.”
“We are proud of the way we played as a team. This was for the people of Bangalore. Even when we had the worst seasons, they were there for us. I was gutted; we couldn”t cross the line. Dan mentioned to me while thanking the crowd: we scored 200 and lost. It was weird that we still lost by eight runs. Me and AB getting out quickly was a big blow. Had I stayed with AB, we could have finished it. I just want to congratulate t erved to win.”
A beaming SRH skipper, Warner said, “Fantastic team achievement. To lead this side and the support from the players, me pulling my weight with the runs, it has been a hard journey. It”s a team effort. To have the perfect game, we need to gel. For us, the key was team effort all the way. Look we knew, we had to get 200. Virat Kohli, what a great leader! I can”t take it away from him. He set the benchmark this season. We knew we had to win three straight games. To win in Bangalore, we were underdogs. But, we batted well, bowled well, and fielded well. In 24 hours, I will be off to the Caribbean. Time to have a beer.”
SRH also won the Fairplay Award.
