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.

Bengaluru: Kolkata Knight Riders’ Venkatesh Iyer plays a shot during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 T20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders, at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, Friday, March 29, 2024. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak) (PTI03_29_2024_000300B)
| Photo Credit: PTI

Just six overs into the chase, the writing was on the wall. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had established utter dominance, while Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had nowhere to turn.

While RCB gently tiptoed to 182 for six, KKR sprinted to the finish line in their IPL encounter here on Friday. KKR’s all-out attacking intent was made clear by openers Phil Salt (30, 20b, 2×4, 2×6) and Sunil Narine (47, 22b, 2×4, 5×6), who smashed fearsome blows to rack up 85 runs in the first six overs.

With the required run rate now down to seven an over, Venkatesh Iyer (50, 30b, 3×4, 4×6) and Shreyas Iyer (39 n.o., 24b, 2×4, 2×6) faced no pressure. The middle-order duo settled in, picked on the loose deliveries, and helped KKR reach home with 3.1 overs to spare.

Save for a wicket for local lad V. Vyshak, the 34,000-odd spectators had little to cheer about in the KKR essay.

Earlier, Virat Kohli (83 n.o., 59b, 4×4, 4×6) carried his bat for RCB, even if he was not in full flow. Kohli and his partners struggled when the pace was taken off by the KKR bowlers.

Cameron Green (33, 21b, 4×4, 2×6) and Glenn Maxwell (28, 19b, 3×4, 1×6) kept Kohli company in uninspiring partnerships.

For the third successive outing, Dinesh Karthik came to the rescue in the death overs. Karthik walked in to bat in the 18th over, and provided late momentum with an eight-ball 20.

A shoddy fielding display let RCB off the hook. The worrying trend was set when Ramandeep Singh fluffed a run out chance early in the essay to hand Green a life.

It got worse for Ramandeep, when he put down a skier at deep mid-wicket when Glenn Maxwell was on 11.

KKR was further embarrassed when Narine fluffed a sitter a short while later to give Maxwell another reprieve.

In the 17th over, the virus spread to Varun Chakravarthy, who failed to hold on to a low catch offered by Anuj Rawat.

The KKR opening blitz, however, made up for these failings.

KKR cruises to victory

Knight Riders romped home, reaching the target in 16.5 overs for the loss of only three wickets. Venkatesh top scored with 50 while openers Salt and Narine made 30 and 47 respectively. Shreyas (39 n.o.) and Rinku (5 n.o.) took the team past the finish line