IPL 2020: 5 talking points from SRH v RCB | 21st September
A stunning batting collapse from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) handed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) a winning start to their IPL 2020 campaign by 10 runs. Yuzvendra Chahal was named the man of the match for his figures of 3-18.
Chasing 164 runs to win, SRH did not start well as they lost skipper David Warner through an unfortunate run-out. However, Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey consolidated the SRH innings and added 71 runs for the second wicket. Bairstow played the anchor's role and scored 61 runs off just 43 balls.
Just when SRH looked set to win the game, needing just 43 runs from the last 5 overs, Yuzvendra Chahal turned the game in RCB's favour by picking up wickets off consecutive balls to dismiss Bairstow and Vijay Shankar. SRH lost their last 8 wickets for just 32 runs, handing RCB a win by 10 runs.
Earlier, SRH put RCB in to bat in order to try and restrict them to as low a score as possible. However, it was a dream debut for Devdutt Padikkal, who smashed an impressive half-century and added 90 runs for the first wicket with Aaron Finch.
The SRH bowlers pulled back things nicely, not letting Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers tee off. Kohli fell under the pressure of scoring quick runs but it was AB de Villiers who kept the momentum going for RCB, scoring a brilliant half-century and helping RCB post a competitive total of 163-5 in their 20 overs.
IPL 2020: 5 talking points from SRH v RCB
1) Devdutt Padikkal's memorable debut
Devdutt Padikkal had made a huge reputation for himself in domestic cricket and he certainly lived up to his billing. The youngster showed no fear whatsoever and went after the SRH bowlers early in the powerplay.
While Finch was taking his time to settle in, Padikkal was seeing the ball well and was making full use of it. He scored 56 runs off just 42 balls which included 8 fours.
By the time he lost his wicket, RCB had already scored 90 runs off the first 10 overs. Padikkal had, therefore, put his team in a very strong position to post a total around the 180-mark.
2. SRH bowlers pulling things back
At 90-0, RCB appeared to be in full control of their innings and looked set to post a total around the 180-mark. However, the SRH bowlers pulled back things nicely, taking the wickets of both the openers off consecutive balls.
Kohli and De Villiers came to the crease and began to put up an exhibition of how to run between the wickets. For the next five overs, they took no risk whatsoever and set themselves up for an onslaught towards the back end of the innings. But just when Kohli tried to press the accelerator, he was caught in the deep and RCB lost a crucial wicket.
No one among Shivam Dube and Josh Philippe got going and despite De Villiers' brilliant half-century, RCB could only post 163-5 in their 20 overs. With the kind of start that they had, they would have been disappointed with the score that they got at the end of the first innings.
3. AB De Villiers' half-century
RCB were looking to launch in the last five overs after the kind of start that they had got. However, they lost the big wicket of Kohli while he was trying to clear the fence. De Villiers ensured that RCB's innings didn't just taper off, scoring some important runs and finding the boundaries at regular intervals.
De Villiers scored 51 runs off just 30 balls including 4 fours and 2 huge sixes. Although RCB would not have been happy with the kind of score they got after the start that they had, De Villiers made sure that the score was competitive enough to pose a challenge to SRH.
The IPL 2020 timetable has been updated check here.