Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru secured the number one spot in the points table. Consequently, they set up a massive Qualifier 1 match against the Gujarat Titans. They achieved this major goal during their recent match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad.
Before the game started, Sunrisers Hyderabad had a small chance to finish in the top two. Therefore, they played aggressive cricket right from the first ball and scored a huge total of 255 runs.
However, they needed to keep RCB under 166 runs to get that top-two spot. That task proved to be very difficult because RCB has one of the strongest batting lineups this season. Even though SRH won the match by 55 runs, RCB got exactly what they needed.
Breakdown of the Match Phases
The game moved fast, and both teams had moments where they dominated the scoring.
| Match Phase | SRH Runs / Wickets | RCB Runs / Wickets | SRH Run Rate | RCB Run Rate | Boundaries (4s/6s) |
| Powerplay (Overs 1-6) | 63/1 | 75/2 | 10.50 | 12.50 | SRH: 9/1 | RCB: 7/5 |
| Middle-Overs (Overs 7-15) | 126/1 | 74/1 | 14.00 | 8.22 | SRH: 6/11 | RCB: 8/0 |
| Death Overs (Overs 16-20) | 66/2 | 51/1 | 13.22 | 10.20 | SRH: 5/4 | RCB: 5/2 |
Brief Scores
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 255/4 in 20 overs. Ishan Kishan scored 79 off 46 balls, Abhishek Sharma hit 56 off 22 balls, and Heinrich Klaasen smashed 51 off 24 balls. Nitish Reddy remained not out on 29 off 12 balls.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 200/4 in 20 overs. Rajat Patidar scored 56 off 39 balls, Venkatesh Iyer made 44 off 19 balls, and Krunal Pandya stayed not out on 41 off 31 balls.
Bowling Performance: Eshan Malinga was the pick of the bowlers for SRH with figures of 2-33.
Result: Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 55 runs.
Abhishek Sharma Starts the Heavy Hitting
The SRH opening batsman played incredibly well at the start of the innings. He received a lot of help from a very flat batting pitch. Furthermore, the RCB fielders dropped a few catches, which helped his confidence.
Earlier in the evening, SRH captain Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bat first. He put the responsibility on his batsmen to score a massive total. Following his plan, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head started hitting boundaries immediately.
They faced two of the top bowlers of the season, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood. Yet, they hit fours easily against them.
Soon after, bowler Rasikh Salam changed the momentum. He dismissed Travis Head with an accurate yorker on the off-stump.
He almost dismissed Abhishek Sharma in the same over with a slower ball. However, Venkatesh Iyer dropped the catch at deep square leg.
Abhishek Sharma hit a six against Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the very first over. Interestingly, that shot was the only six hit during the entire Powerplay.
After that, he attacked Suyash Sharma and Romario Shepherd in the seventh and eighth overs. He hit two sixes against each bowler to reach his half-century in just 20 balls.
During this time, two of his sixes flew right over the boundary ropes where RCB fielders missed tough catching chances. Eventually, Rajat Patidar talked with bowler Suyash Sharma.
The leg-spinner bowled a slower googly that forced Abhishek Sharma to miscalculate his shot. As a result, the ball went straight to substitute fielder Jordan Cox at the long-on boundary.
Heinrich Klaasen Dominates RCB’s Top Bowler
The South African batsman started his innings quite carefully. He kept things steady until he faced Josh Hazlewood.
For a brief moment, RCB looked like they might control the scoring rate. Romario Shepherd helped this effort by bowling an excellent over that cost only five runs.
Nevertheless, Klaasen changed the game completely in the 13th over against Hazlewood. The Australian bowler started the over with an attempted yorker. Klaasen shifted his leg out of the way and smashed the ball firmly.
Then, Hazlewood bowled an uncharacteristic ball right into the hitting slot. Klaasen launched it high into the midwicket stands for a massive six.
Next, Hazlewood managed to bowl a good wide yorker. Even so, Klaasen stood his ground, threw his bat at the ball, and sent it past point for a four.
He finished the over by hitting a full toss for another six. That over cost 27 runs in total, making it the most expensive over Hazlewood has ever bowled in T20 cricket.
Later, in the 15th over, Klaasen smashed a ball over extra cover against Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Thanks to that shot, his total runs for this season went past the 600-run mark.
Ishan Kishan Controls the Innings
The pitch stayed incredibly friendly for the batsmen all evening. Because of this condition, every player looked capable of hitting amazing shots.
Alongside Klaasen, Ishan Kishan also attacked the bowling from the start of his innings. He hit early sixes against Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya.
Additionally, he scored quick runs against Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He reached his half-century using 31 deliveries and stayed at the crease until the final ball of the innings.
During the final overs, he hit one six and two fours against Rasikh Dar. Even though he looked a bit tired near the end, he finished with a brilliant 79 runs off 46 balls.
RCB Fight Back Late in the Innings
It is hard to imagine that a bowling team pulled things back while conceding 255 runs. However, that is exactly what happened on this high-scoring ground in Hyderabad.
Nitish Reddy batted aggressively to score 29 runs off just 13 balls. Despite his quick hitting, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rasikh Dar bowled well at the very end. They allowed only 17 runs to come off the final 12 balls of the innings.
Venkatesh Iyer Starts the Chase Fast
RCB gave a major opportunity to Venkatesh Iyer to open the batting. This chance arrived because Jacob Bethell was injured and Phil Salt was still finding his match fitness.
Iyer made full use of the excellent batting pitch. He started the run chase quickly by scoring 44 runs off 19 balls.
The tall left-handed batsman played aggressively against Pat Cummins. Next, he attacked left-arm wrist-spinner Shivang Kumar, who came on to bowl the fourth over.
Iyer smashed three sixes and a four in that over, which brought 23 runs. Because of his hitting, RCB reached 50 runs in just four overs.
However, his innings ended in the next over. He mistimed a short delivery from Eshan Malinga and hit it straight to Ishan Kishan at deep midwicket.
SRH Use Slower Cutters to Control the Flow
After the initial breakthrough, SRH bowler Sakib Hussain showed his team the best way to bowl on this surface. He bowled six consecutive slower cutters in the sixth over.
Consequently, he gave away only four single runs. He also took the massive wicket of Virat Kohli, who hit a wide ball straight to the cover fielder.
Next, Harshal Patel came into the game as an impact substitute replacing Praful Hinge. He followed the same plan and started his spell with slower cutters.
Eshan Malinga used the strategy successfully as well. He dismissed Devdutt Padikkal, who hit a catch directly to the deep square leg fielder.
RCB Bat Intelligently to Secure Qualification
SRH set a massive target to win the match. Despite that big number, RCB only needed 166 runs to secure a top-two finish.
Therefore, they played smart cricket and avoided taking unnecessary risks. They reached 100 runs at the halfway mark of ten overs.
Pat Cummins tried using all his main attacking options to disrupt RCB. However, his bowlers could not take quick wickets to create pressure.
To make things harder for SRH, Cummins dropped an easy catch in the 16th over off Malinga’s bowling. During the 17th over, which was bowled by the SRH captain, RCB crossed the 166-run mark.
This moment confirmed their top-two playoff spot and booked their ticket for Qualifier 1 against the Gujarat Titans. Meanwhile, SRH’s plan to use Harshal Patel did not work out well. He missed his bowling lengths and finished with figures of 0-37.
Rajat Patidar Scores a Half-Century
Rajat Patidar played a captain’s innings and secured a solid half-century. Surprisingly, he fell to the bowling of part-time spinner Travis Head.
The off-spinner bowled a short ball in the 18th over, and Patidar hit it straight to a fielder. Afterward, Krunal Pandya and Tim David batted sensibly to take RCB to an exact score of 200 runs.
This effort gave SRH a 55-run win, and they finished third in the points standings.
What Lies Ahead for Both Teams
RCB will now travel to Dharamsala to play Qualifier 1 on May 26. They will face the Gujarat Titans for a direct entry into the grand final.
On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad will travel to Mullanpur. They will play the Eliminator match on May 27 against the team that finishes fourth on the table.