Hyderabad: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) kept their hopes alive with a dominant 35-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 41st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Thursday.
Cameron Green was instrumental in RCB's victory with an unbeaten 37 off 20 balls and then picked up 2 wickets for 12 runs, including the prize wicket of Pat Cummins who sent some shivers down with his 31 off 15 balls.
Chasing RCB's imposing total, Hyderabad's innings got off to a shaky start with Travis Head departing for just 1 run in the opening over. Abhishek Sharma provided some momentum, scoring a quickfire 31 off 13 balls, laced with three fours and two sixes, before falling in the fourth over.
Despite the continuous loss of wickets, Hyderabad's batsmen maintained an average run rate of around 10 runs per over initially. However, the frequent dismissals halted their progress, preventing them from maintaining the required momentum in the latter part of their innings.
Captain Pat Cummins offered some resistance with a brisk 31 off 15 balls, featuring one four and three sixes. Shahbaz Ahmed contributed an unbeaten 40 off 37 balls, while Jaydev Unadkat remained not out on 8 runs. Nevertheless, Hyderabad could only reach 171/8 in their allotted 20 overs, falling short of the target set by RCB.
For RCB, Cameron Green, Swapnil Singh, and Karn Sharma claimed two wickets each, while Yash Dayal and Will Jacques chipped in with a wicket apiece.
The opening pair of Virat Kohli (51) and Faf Du Plessis got off to a solid start, adding 48 runs for the first wicket. However, Thangarasu Natarajan provided SRH with their first breakthrough by dismissing Du Plessis for 25 runs off 12 balls, which included three fours and a six.
In the seventh over, Mayank Markandey struck for SRH, removing Will Jacks (6). Virat and Patidar then built a strong partnership. Despite losing Mahipal Lomror (7) and Dinesh Karthik (11) cheaply, Cameron Green's unbeaten 37 off 20 balls and Swapnil Singh's unbeaten 12 off 8 balls propelled RCB to a formidable total.
RCB's innings received a significant boost from Rajat Patidar's aggressive batting. The right-hander was in sublime touch, smashing a scintillating 50 runs off a mere 20 balls. His innings were adorned with 2 boundaries and an impressive 5 sixes, putting SRH bowlers under immense pressure.
Together with Virat, Patidar formed a threatening partnership that was steering RCB towards a formidable total. However, their promising stand was cut short by SRH's Jaydev Unadkat in the 13th over. Unadkat's dismissal of Patidar broke the crucial partnership and provided SRH with a much-needed breakthrough.
Despite Patidar's dismissal, RCB managed to post a challenging total of 206/7 in their 20 overs, setting up an intriguing contest for the Sunrisers Hyderabad batsmen.
Unadkat was the pick of the bowlers for SRH, claiming three wickets, while Natarajan, Pat Cummins, and Mayank Markandey chipped in with two, one, and one wicket respectively.
