HYDERABAD: There was sea of orange at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. And they weren’t least disappointed, as they broke their three-match home jinx by recording a convincing seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore.
But it was too little to cheer as far as their chances of a place in the play-off was concerned. It looks a distant dream, given their position on the table and their middling run-rate. However, they impeded RCB’s play-off hopes.
It was a close match in the end. Set to chase 161 amidst rain-threat, man of the match David Warner (59 off 46 balls, 3x4, 4x6) provided the thunder while Shikhar Dhawan (50 off 39 balls, 7x4, 1x6) the lightning as the home team reached target with two balls to spare. Even as the dark clouds enveloped the stadium, the two left-handed openers rose to the occasion.
There was change in the batting order for Sunrisers, and Warner came out to open with Dhawan. But it was Dhawan who meant business straightaway. He batted with vigour and purpose. Warner used more power into his shots to decimate the bowlers. The two put up their best opening stand of 100 runs. Dhawan got to his first half-century of the season before he was run out.
Warner went on to complete his fifth half-century. The left-hander departed with Sunrisers needing 35 more runs for victory. Sensing an opportunity, RCB bowlers kept things tight. But Naman Ojha struck an enterprising 24 off 20 balls to reduce the pressure. Skipper Darren Sammy then struck a six before hitting the winning runs in the fourth ball of the last over.
Earlier in the RCB innings, skipper Virat Kohli finally rediscovered his touch. The aggressive batsman hit a 41-ball 67 to lift RCB to a challenging total. They began slowly, scoring 48 runs in the first 10 overs before accumulating 112 runs in the next ten, thanks to Kohli’s enterprising knock. He thus posted his first half-century of the season. His previous best was 49 not out in the first match against Delhi Daredevils before getting into a slump.
But on Tuesday, he was different and determines. He took 10 deliveries before slamming his first of his four boundaries to the cover fence. His shot selection was superb. The energetic Kohli reserved his best in Karn Sharma’s third over. He hit the bowler over sightscreen and before hoisting him over the cover fence. He then cut him through point for a boundary, too, and took 19 off his over.
RCB’s best phase came when the in-form AB de Villiers and Kohli were involved in 31-ball 61 runs partnership. De Villiers entertained the over 28,000-crowd with a 17-ball 29 before he was castled by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. The two took 19 overs in Darren Sammy’s only over. Left-hander Yuvraj Singh made a 25-ball 21, hitting two fours and one six.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: C Gayle c Rasool b Karn 14, P Patel lbw Kumar 4, V Kohli c Steyn b Pathan 67, Yuvraj c Steyn b Rasool 21, De Villiers b Kumar 29, S Rana (not out) 12, M Starc (run out) 6, Extras (b 2, lb 1, w 4) 7, Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 160. Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-23, 3-80, 4-141, 5-146, 6-160. Bowling: Kumar 4-0-27-2, Steyn 4-0-23-0, Rasool 4-0-26-1, Karn 3-0-27-1, Venugopal 1-0-7-0, Pathan 3-0-28-1, Sammy 1-0-19-0.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: S Dhawan (run out) 50, D Warner c Yuvraj b Aaron 59, N Ojha c Yuvraj b Aaron 24, A Finch (not out) 11, D Sammy (not out) 10, Extras (b 2, lb 2, w 3) 7, Total (3 wickets; 19.4 overs) 161. Fall of wickets: 1-100, 2-126, 3-150. Bowling: Muralitharan 4-0-26-0, Starc 3.4-0-31-0, Aaron 4-0-36-2, Ahmed 2.2-0-22-0, Chahal 4-0-32-0, Yuvraj 1.4-0-10-0.