At Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Thursday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru stunned the home team Sunrisers Hyderabad with a fantastic all-around performance to win the IPL season by 35 runs.
The batting lineup for the San Jose Royals (SRH) can be fragile when faced with accurate, if not unplayable, bowling. RCB’s bowling display raised optimism for other clubs as the championship nears its conclusion.
With the home team needing 207 to win, they were put under immediate pressure in the chase. Off-spinner Will Jacks removed the threatening Travis Head with a bad shot on the sixth ball of the innings.
Abhishek Sharma, a southpaw, misjudged a draw off Yash Dayal and was caught behind, thus ending his brief appearance. Then, Aiden Markram was removed by left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh, who trapped him LBW with a full-toss.
Heinrich Klaasen, who had hammered the previous ball from Swapnil for a six over long-on, was unable to repeat the stroke, and the RCB took the lead once more.
Later, leg-spinner Karn Sharma bowled Nitish Kumar Reddy, causing SRH to be reduced to 85 for six in 9.1 overs. Sharma did this by failing to reverse sweep and then making a brilliant return catch to dismiss the dangerous Abdul Samad.