The bottom-feeding RCB team of IPL 2024 defeated the high-flying SRH team in Hyderabad to end a six-game losing streak and win their second match of the year. Exactly one month after their previous victory, RCB made their opponents deviate from their recent pattern by requiring them to chase a formidable 206 on a two-paced track thanks to explosive strokes from Cameron Green (37* off 20) and Rajat Patidar (50 off 20). Their spinners then came up with four vital wickets to secure a 35-run victory.
The distinction: Uncharted PowerPlay territory
RCB claimed four or more wickets in the PowerPlay for the first time this season, while SRH lost as many wickets in the same phase for the first time. Even though SRH scored one extra run in the PowerPlay, those wickets of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, and Heinrich Klaasen turned out to be the difference.
PowerPlay: A pull together with a counterpull
RCB 61/1 [RR: 10.16, 7/2 for 4s and 6s]
After RCB won the toss, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis bounded off the starting lineup, reaching 43/0 in 3 overs. Kohli flicked the opening ball of the fourth over, delivered by T. Natarajan, for four runs. Before Shahbaz Ahmed produced a two-run opening over, Natarajan dismissed du Plessis (25 off 12) with a slower short ball, and the next 11 balls of the PowerPlay yielded just 4 runs. After six overs, Kohli hit a six and Natarajan became the only bowler for SRH to get a second PowerPlay over, giving the visitors 61/1.
Middle Overs: Unadkat’s wickets, Patidar’s blitz, and Kohli’s slow approach
RCB 81/3 [RR: 9.00, 2/5 for 4s and 6s]
After the PowerPlay, Kohli started to bat, scoring 32 off 18. After hitting just 19 runs from his last 25 balls at a strike-rate of 76 and unable to score any boundaries against the dispersed field, he was eventually removed for a 43-ball 51. Additionally, he contributed barely 14 runs per ball in a partnership of 65 off 34 balls. In the 11th over, which Mayank Markande bowled, his partner Rajat Patidar struck four of his five consecutive sixes to achieve a 19-ball half-century. On a pitch that was tight and halting, however, SRH responded once more, bowling overs 12–15 without giving up a four. The best bowler for the hosts was Jaydev Unadkat, whose slower deliveries into the wicket made it challenging to make shots. Unadkat dismissed Patidar, Kohli, and Mahipal Lomror in his 100th IPL match.
Death Overs: Green does a good job with the slower ball.
[RR: 12.8, 4s/6s: 9/1] RCB 64/3
When it came to hitting the slower deliveries, Green was the greatest player for RCB. Against fellow countryman Pat Cummins, whose four overs cost fifty-five runs, he hit four of his five boundaries. But the SRH captain was very good at using his bowlers; Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who bowled just one over, brilliantly covered Shahbaz’s three overs for 14 runs.
Hyderabad’s Sunrisers
PowerPlay: An uncommon top-order SRH collapse
62/4 SRH (10.33 RR, 4s/6s: 4/4).
In the Bengaluru encounter, Will Jacks started the bowling, but the match-up play was ineffective at that time. However, it did today. Travis Head miscued a slog to backward point, but it was the length of the ball that proved to be the undoing of his mishandled last over. After Jacks’ second over ended at 20, Yash Dayal got Abhishek Sharma to misjudge a loft, resulting in a 13-ball 31 for the RCB, who were now leading. After giving up 19 runs in his opening over, Swapnil Singh struck again to remove the hard-hitting Protea duo of Markram and Klaasen, bringing SRH down to 62/4 after six overs.
In the middle overs, Karn Sharma leads the RCB in spin.
SRH 70/3 (7.77 RR, 4s/6s: 3/4)
Karn Sharma struck in his first and second overs immediately following the PowerPlay, leaving SRH reeling at 85/6. He started by castleing Nitish Reddy, who failed to execute a reverse sweep attempt. Then, after stepping down the pitch and making a straightforward return catch, Abdul Samad was overpowered by the length. After slugging Swapnil for two sixes, Cummins struck four and six off the opening two balls of Karn’s bowling to start a mini-revival. Green eventually overcame the SRH captain, who attempted a slash towards point. However, Karn bowled out with fantastic figures of 2 for 29.
Death Overs: A dull conclusion
39/1 SRH [RR: 7.8, 3/1 for 4s/6s]
Since the game had progressed far beyond SRH at that point, the last chapter had a ceremonial sense to it. SRH’s ninth wicket pair held on to cut the final margin of defeat to 35 runs, but Green took a second wicket off Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 171/8 in 20 overs (Shahbaz Ahmed 40*; Karn Sharma 2-29) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 206/7 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 51, Rajat Patidar 50; Jaydev Unadkat 3-30) by 35 runs.
What are the teams’ next moves?
Before their Sunday afternoon match against the Gujarat Titans, RCB has a tight turnaround. On the same day, SRH plays the holders in a late-night match in Chennai.
