In the 52nd match of the VIVO IPL 2021, Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by four runs in Abu Dhabi. The struggling SRH registered their third victory of the season in a nail-biting last-over thriller.
After losing the toss, Sunrisers Hyderabad was asked to bat. Jason Roy and Kane Williamson provided a decent start in the first innings, but they couldn’t keep the momentum throughout. SRH lost wickets at regular intervals, which didn’t allow them to score runs easily. The first innings concluded with the Hyderabad-based franchise setting up a moderate target of 142 for the star-studded RCB line-up. Hyderabad’s bowling unit was very disciplined in the powerplay, which helped them acquire three wickets in the first seven overs. SRH didn’t let RCB score runs in the middle overs until Glenn Maxwell arrived at the crease and changed the course of the game. Devdutt Padikkal and Maxwell had a partnership of 54 runs which brought the Bangalore-based franchise back into the game. Padikkal was struggling in the middle, the opener couldn’t even maintain a strike rate of 100 in his 50-ball stay. In the process of getting the in-form Maxwell back to the strike, Padikkal went for a risky single, a direct hit by Kane Williamson was more than enough to send the Aussie back to the pavilion. Padikkal’s dreary knock continued until he was caught in the deep by Abdul Samad in Rashid Khan’s over. When the game was heading towards a close finish, Hyderabad managed to strike wickets at crucial stages. With 13 needed off the last six, AB De Villiers (19) smashed a six off the third delivery off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s over followed by a dot ball. SRH had to prevent a maximum off the last bowl and Kumar managed to do it and took his team home by four runs.
Padikkal and Maxwell were the major contributors with the bat. Bangalore lost wickets at crucial stages due to which they fell short of the target by a close margin.
Following the fixture, RCB (3) and SRH (8) have retained their respective spots with 14 and six points respectively.
Scorecard:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 141/7, Jason Roy (44), Kane Williamson (31), Harshal Patel (3/33)
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 137/6, Devdutt Padikkal (41), Glenn Maxwell (40), Umran Malik (1/21)