Yet another thriller of a match as the Royal Challengers Bangalore bounced back from a rather difficult position to win the encounter by a narrow margin of 6 runs against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The victory now puts Virat Kohli and Co. at the top of the table, with two wins from two matches.
The Sunrisers who are yet to taste victory this season find themselves languishing at the bottom of the table.
Once again the toss went in favor of the foreign captain and he decided to have a bowl first. The Challengers had a shaky start to the innings as Devdutt Padikkal was seen struggling to get his timing right after a short break from the sport after being tested positive for the virus.
With the top order failing to make any significant contributions, it was up to the star Aussie hard-hitter Glenn Maxwell to get RCB to a decent total. The 32-year old did live up to the hopes as he played a match-winning inning of 59 from 41 balls.
Though the RCB managed to reach a total of 149 runs, it did look well short as the SRH side possesses a strong batting line-up. The reply began with Saha once again falling cheaply but Warner and Pandey once held the ship together.
At 115 for the loss of 3 wickets in the 17th over, things did look done and dusted for the RCB side but a spirited 17th over by Shahbaz Ahmed in which he managed to dismiss the three big guns- Bairstow, Pandey, and Abdul Samad and give away just 1 run turned the proceedings in favor of the Men in Red.
Cricwizz brings you the stand-out players of the thrilling encounter and also the player who we think was a reason for the downfall of the Hyderabad side.
Hero of the Match
There is no doubt that the innings of the ‘Big Show’ stands to be the difference between Sunrisers and victory. When most of the batsmen found the going difficult, the Aussie all-rounder played a gem of an innings by scoring a fluent fifty and ensuring the RCB side got to a decent total.
Zero of the Match
SRH opener Wriddhiman Saha once again failed to get going and despite facing 9 balls, the 36-year old was only able to score 1 run. His poor form does reflect on his partner- David Warner, who seems to be feeling the heat with the high number of dot balls played out by the wicket-keeper batsman.
Can he strike back in the upcoming matches? Or will he be replaced with Kedhar Jadhav in the line-up and Bairstow be given the responsibility of keeping wickets?
Game-changing moment of the match
Until the 16th over, the proceedings were well in favor of the Sunrisers. But it was the 17th over that turned the plate. The over began with Bairstow top-edging the ball and AB deVilliers gladly accepting the catch. The next ball was almost a deja-vu of the Bairstow dismissal as Pandey was looking to finish off things in a hurry and ended up giving away his wicket. The magnificent over concluded with the crucial wicket of pinch-hitter Abdul Samad.
Stay tuned with Cricwizz as we bring you an in-depth analysis of all the IPL matches. Do you agree with our picks above? Also, do read our fantasy picks for the upcoming clash between the Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium, this Thursday.
