Royal Challengers Bengaluru players Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar are seen in action during the Indian Premier League 2024 match in Hyderabad on April 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: R. Ragu

Royal Challengers Bengaluru delivered a stunning all-round performance to upset crowd-favourite Sunrisers Hyderabad, registering a 35-run victory in their IPL league match, at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Thursday.

The visitors’ performance also served a reminder that the SRH batting line-up can be brittle in the face of accurate, if not unplayable, bowling and also raised hopes for other teams as the championship heads for the business-end.

Chasing 207 for victory, the home team was straightaway under pressure with Will Jacks inducing a poor stroke from the dangerous Impact Player Travis Head off the sixth ball of the innings.

Soon, fellow-opener Abhishek Sharma’s cameo ended, mistiming a pull off Yash Dayal only to be caught behind, before SRH’s Impact Player, the left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh, trapped Aiden Markram leg-before with a low full-toss.

RCB was back on top again when Heinrich Klaasen, who had hit the previous ball from Swapnil for a six over long-on, perished trying to repeat the stroke off the next.

Later, leg-spinner Karn Sharma had Nitish Kumar Reddy bowled, missing a reverse sweep, and then took a smart return catch to send back the dangerous Abdul Samad to reduce SRH to 85 for six in 9.1 overs. The rest of the innings was a formality as RCB notched up a much-needed victory.

Coming good

Earlier, Rajat Patidar’s brilliance at the top of the order, an unusually slow half-century by Virat Kohli, and a cameo in the final overs by Cameron Green helped Royal Challengers score a challenging 206 for seven.

Though Kohli struggled to get going after all his boundaries came within the first six overs, Patidar compensated by scoring a 20-ball half-century that included four sixes off leg-spinner Mayank Markande in the 11th over of the innings.

Jaydev Unadkat was the pick of the SRH bowlers with a three-wicket haul, including the prize scalps of Patidar and Kohli. RCB scored 64 runs from the last five overs, mainly due to some lusty blows from Green.

Travis Head’s destructive hundred fused splendidly with skipper Pat Cummins’ resolve as Sunrisers Hyderabad registered a well-crafted 25-run victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a high-scoring affair here on Monday.

Head’s maiden T20 hundred (102, 41b, 9×4, 8×6) and Heinrich Klaasen’s pillaging 67 (31b, 2×4, 7×6) drove Sunrisers to a record-breaking 287 for three, also going past their own 277/3 against Mumbai Indians at Hyderabad this March 27.

The visiting bowlers led by Cummins (3/43) showed superb skill level on a barren pitch, something their counterparts lacked, to restrict RCB to 262 for seven. This IPL match also witnessed the highest cumulative runs scored –549 in any single T20 match.

Skipper Faf du Plessis (62, 28b, 7×4, 4×6) and the super-improvising Dinesh Karthik (83, 35b, 5×4, 7×6) played fine hands but on the night they ended as mere footnotes.

However, RCB began their chase of 288 with gusto with Du Plessis and Virat Kohli (42, 20b, 6×4, 2×6) making 50 in just 3.5 overs, bettering SRH’s timing for their 50 in 4.3 overs.

The Faf-Kohli pair reached 79 in the Power Play overs and 80 in 6.2 overs but the introduction of leg-spinner Mayank Markande changed the complexion of the game.

Kohli’s attempt to slog sweep Markande saw the ball sneaking under his bat to rattle the stumps. From that point, the Royal Challengers lost four wickets in the span of 41 runs to slip to 121 for four that also saw a steep climb in the asking rate.

The fourth wicket to fall during that phase was that of Du Plessis. The South African batter smashed Cummins for a four and six in successive balls but feathered a well-directed slower bouncer to Klaasen behind the stumps.

In the same over, the Aussie pacer also trapped Saurav Chauhan in front of the wicket for a naught.

Karthik and Mahipal Lomror (19), who together punished Markande for 25 runs in his last over, milked 59 runs off 29 balls for the sixth wicket, and the former also made 63 for the seventh wicket with Anuj Rawat as RCB moved along briskly.

But in the end, it was sufficient only to provide some artificial excitement to the full house.

Earlier, Head’s destructive hundred was the driving force behind Hyderabad’s imposing total.

The South Australian added 108 runs off 49 balls with his opening partner Abhishek Sharma (34, 22b) and 57 off 26 balls with Klaasen for the second wicket as the hosts’ bowlers wilted under sustained firing.

Head’s batting does not carry the traditional elegance of a left-hander but he more than compensates it with effectiveness.

His innings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium was a telltale example of the simple principles he follows in batting — anything in his hitting arc will disappear far and wide.

The 30-year-old displayed that chilling efficiency against RCB pacers Reece Topley and debutant Lockie Ferguson, who walked in for out-of-form of Glenn Maxwell.

But Ferguson’s first over was an eminently forgettable one, conceding 18 runs. The Kiwi pacer slanted one to Head’s pads and it was flicked over square leg for a six.

Ferguson tried for course correction in the next ball, going a wee bit short.

But Head was up for the challenge, hoisting the ball over mid-on for a massive maximum.

In between, Abhishek, who also played a couple of fine shots, fell to Topley, an uppish flick snaffled by Ferguson at square leg.

But that brought together Head and Klaasen together as RCB were put under the cosh further by SRH’s second-wicket pair.

Head soon fetched his hundred with a brutally-driven boundary off pacer Vysakh Vijayakumar.

However, he perished soon as a mistimed slice off Ferguson was taken by Du Plessis at mid-off.

But the dismissal did not slow down Hyderabad as Klaasen assumed the role of battering ram, bringing up his fifty in just 23 balls.

As is his wont, the South African was severe on spinners and clobbered the part-time left-arm spin of Mahipal Lomror for 18 runs in his only over.

SRH soon went past their own record score of 277 despite Klaasen getting dismissed by Ferguson.

The landmark moment came when Aiden Markram (32, 17b) took a single off Vysakh to long-off.

Markram also added 56 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket alliance with Abdul Samad (37, 10b, 4×4, 3×6) as Hyderabad also smoked 22 sixes, the highest in an IPL innings.

Scoreboard

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD: Abhishek Sharma c Ferguson b Topley 34 (22b, 2×4, 2×6), Travis Head c du Plessis b Ferguson 102 (41b, 9×4, 8×6), Heinrich Klaasen c Vyshak b Ferguson 67 (31b, 2×4, 7×6), Aiden Markram (not out) 32 (17b, 2×4, 2×6), Abdul Samad (not out) 37 (10b, 4×4, 3×6); Extras (lb-2, nb-1, w-12): 15

Total (for three wkts. in 20 overs): 287; Wickets: 1-108 (Abhishek, 8.1 overs), 2-165 (Head, 12.3), 3-231 (Klaasen, 16.6).

Bowling: Jacks 3-0-32-0, Topley 4-0-68-1, Dayal 4-0-51-0, Ferguson 4-0-52-2, Vyshak 4-0-64-0, Lomror 1-0-18-0.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli b Markande 42 Faf du Plessis c Klaasen b Cummins 62 Will Jacks run out 7 Rajat Patidar c Nitish Reddy b Markande 9 Saurav Chauhan lbw b Cummins 0 Dinesh Karthik c Klaasen b Natarajan 83 Mahipal Lomror b Cummins 19 Anuj Rawat not out 25 Vijaykumar Vyshak not out 1 Extras: (B-1, W-13) 14

Total: (For 7 wkts, 20 overs) 262; Wickets: 1-80, 2-100, 3-111, 4-121, 5-122, 6-181, 7-244.

Bowling: Abhishek Sharma 1-0-10-0, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-0-60-0, Shahbaz Ahmed 1-0-18-0, T Natarajan 4-0-47-1, Pat Cummins 4-0-43-3, Mayank Markande 4-0-46-2, Jaydev Unadkat 2-0-37-0.