BHUVI’S DEATH-OVER MASTERY KILLS RCB
Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme’s big hits threatened to spoil Sunrisers Hyderabad’s party, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s splendid yorker-laden final over gave Kane Williamson’s team a five-run in an Indian Premier League encounter on Monday.
Needing 12 to win in the final over, Kumar was at his best as the Indian pacer didn’t allow Grandhomme (33, 29 balls) and Mandeep Singh (21, 23 balls) to free their arms, helping his team defend a modest total of 146.
The defeat has almost ended RCB’s hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. It was the Bangalore team’s seventh defeat from 10 matches and they remain sixth on the points table.
Earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore rode on pace duo of Mohammed Siraj (3/25) and Tim Southee (3/30) and two impressive run-outs by skipper Virat Kohli to restrict Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to a meagre 146.
Siraj accounted for the key wickets of opener Shikhar Dhawan (13), Yusuf Pathan (12) and Wriddhiman Saha (8) even as Southee started the proceedings with the wicket of the other opener Alex Hales (5) and came back to remove Shakib Al Hasan (35) and Sandeep Sharma (0), as the home side could manage just 41 runs losing seven wickets in the final five overs.
Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson (56 off 39 balls) raged a lone battle with a defiant half century, despite losing his partners at regular intervals before Shakib joined him to forge a 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket and take the side past the 100-run mark.
Put into bat, the hosts started on a shaky note as Southee came with the first blow, cleaning up Hales’ middle stump in the third over.
A couple of overs later, Siraj jolted the hosts by packing back Shikhar Dhawan (13) with Hyderabad’s scorecard reading 38/2.
With the addition of another 10 runs to the host’s score, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal put Hyderabad in deep trouble by dismissing Manish Pandey (5) in the ninth over.
Williamson then walked in and together with Shakib denied the tourists any more inroads till the 16th over, even as the New Zealander brought up his eighth IPL half century in 35 balls.
With the innings progressing at a snail’s pace, Williamson while trying to up the ante, perished off a Umesh Yadav delivery caught at the deep backward square leg boundary by Mandeep Singh.
The Hyderabad skipper’s knock was decorated with five fours and couple of sixes.
Shakib too, followed his skipper to the dug out in the 18th over with the hosts reeling at 124/5.
Siraj, in his second spell, scalped the wickets of Yusuf and Wriddhiman in the 19th over with Hyderabad struggling at 143/7.
The final over saw a couple of run-outs by Kohli and a wicket by Southee as the hosts were bundled out for 146. —