Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated table toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad by 14 runs in a high scoring thriller of the 51st match of VIVO IPL 2018 played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Winning the toss, Kane Williamson fielded first. AB de Villiers, Moeen Ali, Collin de Grandhomme and Sarfaraz Khan helped RCB to post a massive total. In reply despite Kane Williamson captains knock, SRH lost the match.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to field first. Sandeep Sharma dismissed Parthiv Patel was dismissed in very first over itself. AB de Villiers came to the crease and looked in aggressive touch right from word go. Rashid Khan dismissed RCB captain Virat Kohli for 12 runs.
At the end of 6 overs, Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 44 for 2. AB de Villiers and Moeen Ali played with positive intent putting pressure on Sunrisers Hyderabad. De Villiers made the batting look easy while Moeen Ali also played with positive intent. At the end of 10 overs, RCB were 84 for 2. After that AB de Villiers and Moeen Ali took on Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers.
AB de Villiers reached his half-century off 32 balls while Moeen Ali scored his half-century off 25 balls. Both de Villiers and Moeen Ali added 107 runs for the 3rd wicket. Rashid Khan dismissed well set de Villiers for 69 and Moeen Ali for 65 in the same over. Collin de Grandhomme came to the crease and smashed Sunrisers Hyderabad to all parts of ground scoring quickfire 40 off 17 balls. Sarfaraz Khan scored quick fire 22 off 8 balls.
Royal Challengers Bangalore posted a massive total of 218 for 6 in 20 overs. For Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rashid Khan was the pick of bowlers with 3 for 27.
Chasing 219, Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Shikhar Dhawan and Alex Hales got the team off to a steady start adding 47 runs for the first wicket. Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Shikhar Dhawan.SRH captain Kane Williamson and looked in aggressive touch. At the end of 6 overs, SRH scored 56 for 1.
After the power play overs, Moeen Ali dismissed Alex Hales by a brilliant catch from AB de Villiers at the boundary for 37. Kane Williamson played with positive intent and put the RCB bowlers under pressure. Manish Pandey struggled for few balls, also smashed RCB bowlers. Kane Williamson scored another half-century off 28 balls while Manish Pandey reached his 2018 edition 1st half century.
Both Kane Williamson and Manish Pandey added a brilliant 135 runs stand for the 3rd wicket. With 20 runs required off the final, Mohammad Siraj dismissed SRH captain Kane Williamson for 81 runs off 42 balls. Manish Pandey remained not out on 62. SRH scored 204 for 3 in 20 overs.
Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj and Moeen Ali picked 1 wicket each for RCB.
RCB 218 for 6 in 20 overs ( AB de Villiers 69, Moeen Ali 65, Collin de Grandhomme 40, Sarfaraz Khan 22*, Rashid Khan 3/27) beat
SRH 204 for 3 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 81, Manish Pandey 62*, Yuzvendra Chahal 1/28) by 14 runs.
SRH captain Kane Williamson said: RCB batting line played brilliantly and posted a massive total for us. When you need this type of huge total, the batsmen need to make good decisions. The wicket here was a good wicket to bat on. Close but not enough.
RCB captain Virat Kohli said: Held our nerves at the end. There was dew which made the life tough for the bowlers. AB de Villiers, Moeen Ali and Collin de Grandhomme were outstanding today. We are happy with the playing XI now it”s settled. AB de Villiers catch was the best catch in the tournament. Thanks for the crowd as it is our last home game.
Man of the match AB de Villiers said: It”s an amazing feeling when the crowds chant AB. I look to put pressure on the bowlers. With momentum on our side, we look to win next match at Jaipur and hope to qualify for the knockout stage. From the position of not qualifying, we need to win our next match.
The last time these two teams met in this tournament, SRH defeated RCB in a thriller at Hyderabad. It kept their hopes alive of reaching the playoff stage.
Delhi Daredevils will take on Chennai Super Kings in tomorrow”s match at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi.