IPL 2018, RCB vs SRH: 4 Reasons why Hyderabad lost against Bangalore
It was a do-or-die game for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, as they hosted table toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Williamson won the crucial toss and decided to field. Sunrisers began really well as Sandeep Sharma dismissed Parthiv Patel in the last ball of the first over.
Kohli hit some crisp drives but fell to Rashid Khan. De Villiers, who was promoted to number three, was still going strong as RCB reached 44 for 2 in six overs.
Moeen Ali walked in at four and he along with De Villiers began to resurrect the RCB innings. The fours and sixes began to flow as runs were coming with ease. De Villiers and Moeen brought up a sensational 100-run partnership, as Bangalore eyed a total in excess of 200.
Williamson turned to Rashid, and the young Afghani delivered the goods, as he sent both De Villiers and Moeen Ali in the space of three balls to bring SRH back into the game.
De Grandhomme and Sarfaraz played brilliant cameos, as RCB finished on a healthy 218 for 6 in 20 overs.
Chasing a daunting 219, Dhawan and Hales gave the visitors a flying start but, fell to Chahal when the score read 47.
Hales fell to a stunning catch in the deep by De Villiers, as SRH slipped to 64 for 2 in the eighth over. Williamson kept Sunrisers in the game with some flawless shots as he raced to a fine fifty.
He along with Pandey batted superbly as a wonderful 120+ partnership gave SRH hope of chasing the target. Williamson fell in the final over, as Siraj held his nerve and hand RCB a 14-run win. With this win, RCB stays alive in the tournament.
Let's take a look at the reasons behind SRH’s loss to RCB.
#1 AB De Villiers - Moeen Ali partnership
When RCB were put into bat, they lost Parthiv Patel and Kohli inside the powerplay overs. They needed something extraordinary by De Villiers and Moeen Ali, and that's exactly what happened.
De Villiers and Moeen joined hands and began to torment the bowling, as SRH were left clueless.
De Villiers smashed a fine 69 off just 39 balls, while Moeen Ali scored a brilliant 65 off just 34 deliveries, as they stitched together a fantastic 107 runs partnership which helped RCB to a mammoth 218 runs.
In the end, that partnership proved pivotal, as RCB won. Top effort by De Villiers and Moeen!