Wrapping up

Sunrisers have been astonishingly good at defending low totals this season. Their bowlers almost guarantee their team a win if they managed to put just over 140 on board. Everytime you think they have been 10-15 runs short, their bowlers have proved you wrong. And, RCB were at a good position (55/1) after Powerplay. With Virat Kohli looking in great touch and AB de Villiers at the crease, it looked like RCB were going to chase the total down with ease. But once they got AB and Kohli, they strangled the RCB batting (like they did to other teams this IPL) and choked them in the end. And, Bhuvneshwar bowled superbly to defend 12 off the last over. SRH go up to 16 points at the top of the table. RCB, meanwhile, are virtually out of contention for play-offs.

Williamson: We’re playing on tough surfaces, this was another one. We were aiming for 150 and we weren’t far away, so we were right in the game. With the ball, we struggled a little bit. Fielding was sloppy. In hindsight, if fielding was clinical, we could’ve operated better, but to come away with a win with some of our experienced campaigners stepping up was superb. Bhuvi and Kaul have done it for a long period of time, did very well last year, doing well this year as well. Hope we can continue to back them at the death. It’s just about trying to adapt to the surfaces. We spoke about the playoffs. It’s about improving.

When the SRH batting doesn’t come good and post sub-150 totals, you’d think “Not always will their bowlers get them over the line”. But SRH bowlers have proven you wrong over and over again. This match too, you might have thought the same when SRH finished under 150. But once again, they have testified their new sobriquet: ‘Masters of defence’.

Virat Kohli: [RCB’s performance] Not good enough, not up to the mark. We deserve to lose this game. Didn’t show enough application. The kind of shots we played were not great. Mandeep, de Grandhomme showed there was a chance if you got yourselves in. This has been the story of our season. 10-15 lesser would’ve been ideal [to chase]. Should have done better with the ball, field was okay. If you have strong characters, you will always do well. SRH had a few guys who did well under pressure, that’s been the story of their season. They understand strengths, know their limitations. That’s why they’ve been successful. From the bowling point of view, SRH is the strongest.

19.6 Straight ball. Grandhomme tries to smash it for a six, misses it and loses his stumps. Bhuvneshwar and his teammates smile. They have defended a total that’s less than 150.

19.5 1 leg bye. RCB need six off the last ball to take this to a super over.

19.4 Yorker again. Just one scored Grandhomme.

19.3 Slow ball, outside off. Mandeep tries a paddle. Just a single.

19.2 Mandeep gets the low full toss to long on for a couple.

19.1 Yorker. Grandhomme gets it to long on. Single.

After 19 overs, RCB 128/5 (Mandeep 18, Grandhomme 31): Sid Kaul has improved leaps and bounds in this tournament. He’s been effective in all stages for Sunrisers. This over he concedes just seven. Bhuvneshwar has 12 runs to defen in the last over. Can RCB pull off a heist against him?

After 18 overs, RCB 128/5 (Mandeep 14, Grandhomme 28): Top over by Bhuvneshwar. Just eight runs off it despite conceding a boundary resulted from an outside edge. 19 needed off 12 now.

After 17 overs, RCB 122/5 (Mandeep 13, Grandhomme 23): Dramatic over. 14 came off that Rashid over.

16.2: A monstrous hit against the spin over the deep midwicket ropes.

16.3: Googly. Grandhomme read that, didn’t time the ball well, but he has enough power to make it soar over deep midwicket again.

16.5: Grandhomme goes down the ground, misses the stroke and gets back to the crease just on time before Saha took his bails off. Very close stumping chance survived.

Rashid Khan into the attack...

After 16 overs, RCB 108/5 (Mandeep 12, Grandhomme 11) 39 needed off 24: Sid Kaul bowls a six-run over. Looks like Grandhomme and Mandeep want to take this till the end. They are not risking a wicket here. But who will they take on?

After 15 overs, RCB 102/5 (Mandeep 10, Grandhomme 8): Mandeep eases a bit of pressure by scoring a boundary (a pull to deep midwicket) off the last ball by Sandeep Sharma. Nine off that over. They need 45 from 30 balls now.

After 14 overs, RCB 93/5 (Mandeep 5, Grandhomme 4): Another over passes without a boundary. It’s been three overs RCB has scored a boundary. Just six off that over by Shakib. One over left for Rashid, one for Sandeep Sharma (who has been excellent in this tournament), and two left for Bhuvneshwar). Who will RCB target here?

After 13 overs, RCB 87/5 (Mandeep 1, Grandhomme 2): Two runs off the over by Sandeep Sharma. Williamson’s laughing. Dhawan’s fielding with one hand. Yusuf’s diving. Can you believe only three overs ago, RCB were cruising. Now there’s only a glimmer of hope left to win this match and stay in this tournament.

RCB are five down. They just have Tim Southee, who can bat well, after this. Grandhomme and Mandeep Singh have a huge task on their hands.

WICKET! Another one falls. It’s the debutant Moeen Ali. Sid Kaul set him up with a quick bouncer. Then bowled a slightly fuller one. Ali tries to pull – not the best shot to play this delivery – and edges it to Saha behind the wickets. The match has, in a space of few deliveries, turned upside down. After 11.4 overs, 84/5.

WICKET! The massive one of AB de Villiers. And who else to take it than that man from Afghanistan: Rashid Khan! It’s the googly. AB looked uncertain about the direction the ball will take till it pitched. But before he could react, the ball quickly swerves in and takes his stumps. Big, big wicket! RCB in 10.4 overs, 80/4.

WICKET! Stunner! You don’t see Yusuf Pathan take such catches. But at short third man, he sticks out his right hand and holds on to Kohli’s miscued pull of Shakib. Big moment in the match. And, Williamson will be breathing easy as well. After 9.5 overs, RCB: 74/3.

After 9 overs, RCB 71/2 (Kohli 38, de Villiers 3): After the drop catch of Kohli, Sunrisers lose a review, trying to get AB’s wicket. They think he has edged the ball to the keeper whilse trying to pull it. But replays show no contact of the ball and bat. But superb contest between Rashid and the batting mainstays of RCB. Unlucky for Rashid to not get a wicket though.

Williamson drops Kohli! Oh dear, oh dear. Virat Kohli edges Rashid Khan’s straighter delivery straight to Kane Williamson. But the SRH skipper lets the ball run away to the boundary between his legs. Williamson’s gutted! A big moment in the match, no doubt! RCB in 8.2 overs: 68/2

KEY STAT: Virat Kohli averages 66.4 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.

WICKET! Manan Vohra departs after struggling to make eight runs off 10 balls. He chops on a sub-120 kmph delivery from Sandeep Sharma. After 7.1 overs, SRH: 70/2... and this signals the arrival of the great AB de Villiers. Don’t go anywhere for AB and Kohli are in the middle.

After 7 overs, RCB 60/1 (Vohra 8, Kohli 31): Just five runs off that Rashid Khan over and a dropped catch of Manan Vohra. Sid Kaul running in towards the deep-midwicket fumbled and the ball popped out of his hands. Vohra’s looked a little scratchy this innings.

After 6 overs, RCB 55/1 (Vohra 5, Kohli 28): After a boundary and a single off the first two balls of that Sid Kaul over, Virat Kohli once again overtook Suresh Raina to be the IPL’s highest run-scorer.

After 5 overs, RCB 47/1 (Vohra 4, Kohli 22): The crowd’s already getting their money’s worth. Doesn’t matter which team they were supporting, they witnessed two superb strokes that came from the Indian skipper’s bat.

4.3: The first of the boundaries – a four – was a jab to deep midwicket.

4.4: This flighted delivery pitched outside off, Kohli stepped down the ground and powered it over long on.

4.5: The last boundary of the over resulted from an outside edge. The first false stroke from Kohli this evening.

After 4 overs, RCB 25/1 (Vohra 4, Kohli 7): King Kohli has played the most beautiful looking shot of the match after facing just two balls. It’s a delivery that’s pitched outside off on good length by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. And, his Indian skipper shows him how to play a perfect cover drive. That shot’s an indicator that he’s on song.

After 3 overs, RCB 25/1 (Vohra 3, Kohli 1): Parthiv Patel has fallen after getting RCB off to a great start with a 13-ball 20. He perished to Shakib Al Hasan after missing his length ball that straightened and struck him in the middle of his pads.

Sandeep starts with a wide.

Alright, are you ready for the chase? Parthiv Patel and Manan Vohra are in the middle. Sandeep Sharma with the new ball...

Sunrisers were looking for 150. They are four runs short. The RCB bowlers came back good after Williamson’s fall. Kohli, AB and the rest of them will trust to chase down this modest total. But against the Sunrisers bowlers, it’s going to be difficult. Only thrice in ten previous attempts has a visiting side chased down more than 146 against Sunrisers.

Sunrisers finish at 146 all out After a couple of run outs and a last-ball LBW by Southee. Rashid and Bhuvneshwar get out, desperately trying for an extra run. Then, Sandeep Sharma gets out golden duck LBW to Southee.

After 19 overs, SRH 143/7 (Rashid 0): Siraj ends an excellent spell of 3/23 with a 146-kmph yorker that Wriddhiman Saha tries to scoop and fails. The ball has made a mess of his stumps.

WICKET! Mohammad Siraj has knocked Yusuf Pathan’s leg stump over. The ball angled in and missed Pathan’s monstrous swing of the ball and sent the stump cartwheeling. Big wicket this considering the following batters of SRH aren’t known for powerhitting. After 18.1 overs, SRH: 134/6

WICKET! Shakib Al Hasan falls after trying to sweep Tim Southee over square leg. But this is a slower ball, he’s unable to get the timing right. And, the ball finds Umesh. After 17.2 overs, SRH: 124/5.

After 17 overs, SRH 123/4 (Shakib 35, Pathan 2): Ten off that over from Siraj. Four off it came from a shot that’s probably been the most exciting one of the match. Shakib goes across the off stump, exposes all three stumps to a yorker, but paddles the ball to fine leg ropes. Shakib scored another four too off the second ball.

WICKET! And, it’s the big one of Kane Williamson. He tries to shuffle across and loft a delivery pitched well outside off towards backward square leg. A difficult shot to play (even for Williamson). He errs and holes it to Mandeep Singh. Kohli and the rest of the RCB are delighted. After 16 overs, SRH: 112/4.

After 16 overs, SRH 105/3 (Williamson 51, Shakib 24): It’s as if Williamson has decided to score a boundary an over. Third ball of this Umesh Yadav over, he sends a slow delivery towards extra cover. And, as always with his shots, it looks effortless.

After 15 overs, SRH 105/3 (Williamson 51, Shakib 24): Fifty for Kane Williamson! Williamson you beauty! Effortlessly shifts gears. Scores a six over midwicket off that Chahal over in the second ball (floated delivery by Chahal that pitched outside off). Then takes a single to complete his fifth half-century of the tournament. Earlier, Dan Vettori conceded that RCB don’t have a plan to get this man out.

After 14 overs, SRH 94/3 (Williamson 43, Shakib 21): Not a great over that by Umesh Yadav. Bowled a knee-high full toss on the leg side. Williamson times it beautifully past the backward square leg fence. Before this, he bowled a length ball that Williamson glanced it to fine leg for four.

After 13 overs, SRH 80/3 (Williamson 31, Shakib 20): Things are going s...l...o...w at the moment. Just four runs (including a wide) came off that Siraj over. Sunrisers would need at least 10 an over from here to get to 150.

After 12 overs, SRH 76/3 (Williamson 30, Shakib 18): Grandhomme concedes a boundary to Shakib after pitching his first ball of the over short. Sunrisers pick eight runs off that over.

After 11 overs, SRH 68/3 (Williamson 29, Shakib 12): Chahal bowls a no-ball and gets away with it. The boundaries have been a problem to get for the Sunrisers. Chahal concedes just seven that over. Sunrisers need to start scoring quick.

After 10 overs, SRH 65/3 (Williamson 24, Shakib 11): The Sunrisers have crossed the midway stage and their run-rate’s still under seven. None of the lower-order batsmen have scored heavily this season. There’s more pressure now on Williamson to steer this innings. They’d need at least 150 to defend against the likes of Kohli, de Villiers et al. Or do they? Shakib scores two superb boundaries off that Moeen over.

WICKET! Alright, looks like I’ve jinxed it! Manish Pandey won’t score more than five this game. He falls to Yuzvendra Chahal, who picks a wicket after three games. SRH, after 8.2 overs, 48/3.

After 8 overs, SRH 47/2 (Williamson 21, Pandey 5): Moeen Ali completes his second over. Just five runs off it. Manish Pandey usually have slow starts. He can afford that in this match but has to make a big score tonight.

After 7 overs, SRH 42/2 (Williamson 19, Pandey 1): Yuzvendra Chahal into the attack. He hasn’t picked up a wicket in three games. The last time that happened was in 2014. The leg-spinnner has to wait for a wicket but bowled a fine first over. Just four runs off it. And, Manish Pandey’s in the middle for Sunrisers after the fall of Dhawan.

WICKET! Siraj dismisses Dhawan in front of his home crowd. He’s elated. He bowled a short one, had some pace on it too. Dhawan appeared to pick this one well, the execution of the hook wasn’t good. The ball went straight to Tim Southee at fine leg. After 5.5 overs, SRH: 38/2

After 5 overs, SRH 36/1 (Dhawan 12, Williamson 16): The fourth ball of the over, Southee bowls a slower one, trying to deceive Williamson. Of course, Williamson doesn’t fall for this trick. He waits, puts his front foot forward, and with a high backlift, drives the ball through covers for four. Not a great ball, but the shot was all class, all Williamson.

After 4 overs, SRH 25/1 (Dhawan 10, Williamson 8): Kane Williamson is in the middle. No boundaries for SRH in that over by Umesh Yadav. But Williamson is unperturbed. He seems to be always in control of things, unaffected by the frenetic pace of T20, by the hustle of RCB bowlers, by the yell of Kohli. He’s a monk who can bat beautifully. SRH will hope he stays on.

WICKET! Hales tries to play across the line of a cross-seamed delivery by Tim Southee. But the ball misses and hits his middle stump. RCB rejoice for the dangerous Hales has departed. SRH, after 2.3 overs, 15/1.

After 2 overs, SRH 14/0 (Hales 5, Dhawan 7): Three dots, followed by a boundary. Umesh Yadav tries to cramp Dhawan. But the fourth ball he pitches a tad short and Dhawan reads it quickly and puts it away past the rope at midwicket. Then, on the last ball (pitched on good length), Hales lofts him over mid-off.

After 1 over, SRH 4/0 (Hales 1, Dhawan 2): Sunrisers, as they often do, are off to a quiet start. Their first-over run-rate is under four. And, they score four against Moeen Ali tonight. No boundaries. Just a few singles.

Okay, no earth-shattering first ball. Hales just pushes it to long on and gets to the other end. SRH, after the first ball: 1/0

Moeen Ali, on his IPL debut, will open the bowling for RCB against his English team-mate Alex Hales.

Alright then, the teams are walking into the middle. Shikhar Dhawan and Alex Hales open for the home team.

Royal Challengers haven’t had much of a success against Hyderabad at their home venue. And, it might be tough for their powerful-yet-inconsistent batting line-up to face the best bowling attack this season. So, the Sunrisers are favoured to win this game. Not just the afore-mentioned reasons, Sunrisers are also favoured because of... this(?):

Playing XI:-

Sunrisers: Hales, Dhawan, Williamson (C), Pandey, Yusuf, Shakib, Saha (W), Bhuvneshwar, Rashid, Kaul, Sandeep

Royal Challengers: Parthiv (W), Moeen, Kohli (C), de Villiers, Mandeep, de Grandhomme, Vohra, Southee, Umesh, Siraj, Chahal

Toss: Virat Kohli calls tails in a must-win game... and tails it is. RCB will bowl first against Sunrisers.

07:20 pm Kane Williamson has been the key contributor for the Sunrisers this season. The team’s batting unit has been reliant on him. He’d hope for the others to come good as well against RCB tonight.

Trivia
Virat Kohli needs 27 runs to once again go past Suresh Raina (4801) and become the highest run-getter in the IPL.
Yuzvendra Chahal has gone wicket-less in the last three matches; the last time he had a stretch of three or more wicket-less matches was in 2014.

Head to head
Overall: Matches: 10, Sunrisers Hyderabad won: 6, Royal Challengers Bangalore won: 4.
In Hyderabad: Matches: 5, Sunrisers Hyderabad won: 4, Royal Challengers Bangalore won: 1.

A consistent Sunrisers Hyderabad unit would look to consolidate its position at the top of the points table while Royal Challengers Bangalore will fight for survival when they clash in the Indian Premier League on Monday.

Courtesy their splendid bowling attack, SRH emerged as good defenders initially but by defeating Delhi Daredevils with a seven-wicket margin on Saturday, they proved that they can pull off tight chases as well.

The Virat Kohli-led RCB, though, are struggling for survival as they need to win every game and also hope that other results go in their favour to remain in contention for the play-offs. They are placed sixth in the table with just three wins from nine games.