Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6 runs as the latter experienced quite an extraordinary batting collapse despite having made a solid start in their run-chase.
Batting first, the RCB could only manage to score 149-8 in their quota of 20 overs. Glenn Maxwell was the top scorer with a knock of 59 runs that he scored in 41 balls. Virat Kohli contributed with 33 runs.
The SRH’s run chase began on an aggressive note even though they lost Wriddhiman Saha early in their innings. David Warner and Manish Pandey added 83 runs for the second wicket and a win for the SRH looked a mere formality when the Aussie dismissed by Kyle Jamieson for 54.
This triggered a spectacular batting collapse as the SRH lost their seven batsmen in the next six overs, adding just 46 runs. Manish Pandey made 38. Shahbaz Ahmed picked up three wickets in just two overs, while Mohammed Siraj ended his speel with 2-25 in four overs.
Reacting to his side’s loss, Warner said after the match, “A very big bitter pill to swallow. Obviously Maxi batted well, but our bowlers did well to restrict them. Look, it was just about building a partnership…and I was quite disappointed with how we went – cross-batted shots against left-arm orthodox. It just hurts. We have another three games here, the wickets are going to get better here. We need to try to take powerplay wickets and need to have one big partnership in the middle. The last four games here the team batting second should’ve won the game. Last night’s game was an example and we played an identical game.”
This was the second straight win for the RCB in the competition. Speaking after the match, Kohli said, “Not as exhausted as I am proud. You are never really out of the game in these conditions. The extra bowling options made those impact performances in the middle overs. I told the guys don’t think that we struggled to get to 149. If it was tough for us, it will be tough for them as well. Our execution under pressure was spot on. It kept getting tougher and tougher with the old ball. I think Maxi’s innings was the difference for us. To be very honest, we are not over-excited with wins this season. We have plans. We traded Harshal from Delhi, gave him a specific role and he’s doing a great job.”
Glenn Maxwell was declared Man Of The Match.