2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by SRH in their IPL 2023 match vs RCB
The SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) suffered another disappointing defeat in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) as they went down to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by eight wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, May 18.
After losing the toss and being asked to bat, the Orange Army posted 186/5 in their 20 overs on the back of Heinrich Klaasen's sensational century. The next highest score in the innings was Harry Brook's unbeaten 27.
In response, RCB were in total command of the chase right from the outset. Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis put on 172 for the first wicket, with the former reaching his sixth IPL ton in the 18th over. Bangalore sealed the two points with four balls to spare.
On that note, here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by SRH in their IPL 2023 match against RCB.
#3 Mistake - SRH got their team selection all wrong against RCB
SRH have made some strange selection decisions in IPL 2023, and they ended up picking a bizarre side to take on RCB. Starting from Aiden Markram's comments at the toss, which suggested that he doesn't have much of a say in picking the team, something seemed off with the way Hyderabad went about their business.
Mayank Markande, who has been one of their better bowlers this season, was relegated to the bench. SRH could've used a leg-spin option against RCB, who are known to struggle against that style of bowling.
The home side also dropped Marco Jansen and Fazalhaq Farooqi, whose left-arm angle and height has troubled Bangalore in the past. Umran Malik, who has warmed the bench for the majority of this campaign, wasn't brought back into the fold despite SRH being officially eliminated from the competition.
It almost seemed like the SunRisers picked a team without realizing which side they were playing against.
#2 Masterstroke - SRH sent in Heinrich Klaasen at No. 4
Heinrich Klaasen has steadily earned promotions in the batting order in IPL 2023 after displaying supreme form and a serious ability to take on spinners at any stage of the innings.
Against RCB, Klaasen came in at No. 4, a move that was rather unexpected given Harry Brook's inclusion in the side. However, the South African proved just why SRH sent him in early and hammered a terrific century off just 49 balls.
Klaasen was the dominant partner in his alliances with Markram and Brook, striking eight fours and six sixes in his knock. He was severe on almost all the RCB bowlers, and had he not been sent in at No. 4, the result of this IPL 2023 contest could've been different.
#1 Mistake - SRH's bowling changes and fielding were all over the place
SRH seemed off the pace right from the start of the second innings. Markram and Co. made a slew of tactical decisions that didn't seem smart, as has been the norm throughout their IPL 2023 campaign.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was taken off after just one over in the powerplay in which he bowled four dots and got some swing. Abhishek Sharma was brought on to capitalize on matchups, but the left-arm spinner surely isn't consistent enough to bowl in the first six overs. Moreover, SRH had a frontline left-arm spinner in Mayank Dagar in their side.
Glenn Phillips was handed the ball with two set right-handers at the crease, and his over cost 10 runs. Speaking of Phillips, the usually reliable Kiwi shelled a high catch early in the innings and let as many as two fours trickle to the fence after some poor fielding.
Kartik Tyagi repeatedly banged the ball in short to Faf du Plessis, who gave the home side one chance but wasn't going to treat the length kindly. After that, the young fast bowler didn't bowl until the last over of the innings, when the game was all but over.
SRH's bowling changes and fielding were all over the place against RCB as they made a host of completely avoidable errors.