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IPL 2021: Bhuvneshwar defends 12 runs in last over as SRH beat RCB
Bottom-placed Sunrisers put in a spirited effort, although Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore are already through to the play-offs.
Eighteen runs were needed off 12 balls. But Royal Challengers Bangalore lost by four runs. You might call it poetic justice for Sunrisers Hyderabad after one of their worst seasons have them stuck in the last position on the points table. But this should bring some joy. And some vindication that amidst all the concerns over the batting losing their bearings, their bowling still holds up well.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar still hasn’t lost his touch, holding his nerve against AB de Villiers and defending 12 runs in the last over. Three low full tosses in the last four balls did the trick. The only time he missed the length and bowled full, de Villiers lifted him for a straight six. But that was just one mistake among six balls, enough to inflict defeat despite Devdutt Padikkal’s vigilant innings that had guided RCB to a winning position.
HIGHLIGHTS: SRH BEAT RCB IN THRILLER
Padikkal has been a revelation. Swoon over Virat Kohli’s cover drives or the 360-degree batting of de Villiers but let’s be honest, nothing matches the visual treat left-handed batters can provide. Padikkal put that theory to test though. He can be a smooth customer, as evident from the timing on the boundary he caressed off Kumar in the third over that made mid-off stand and watch. But this wasn’t a walk through the park. Against an inspired bowling performance on a two-paced pitch, Padikkal hit and mishit, edged and missed for the bulk of his 52-ball stay. Scratchy? Yes. But it almost did the job.
Consider for a moment what he was up against. Kumar, with figures of 4-025-1, was discipline personified after showing Kohli the way back in the first over of RCB’s chase. Siddarth Kaul was all guile and craft, sneaking in the split finger, off-cutter, knuckle ball variations while clocking 130kph. Jason Holder attacked the stumps relentlessly while Umran Malik continued to impress with his variation of lengths. Barring Rashid Khan, the other four Sunrisers bowlers returned economies of 6.75 and under. That did RCB in.
The damage was done early though. Kohli playing across the line and missing an incoming delivery--leg-before decisions can’t get more plumb than this. And then there was that one-handed pick up and direct hit from Kane Williamson that sent Glenn Maxwell when he looked good to go the distance. This too was Padikkal’s fault, going for a single off Rashid when Williamson was standing close in at extra cover. But as long as Padikkal stayed, RCB kept ticking.
FINE START
Sunrisers Hyderabad treaded a similar path in the first innings as well. There was a glimmer of hope when a 70-run partnership between Jason Roy and Kane Williamson took them to 84/1. Nearly 90 in the 12th over and only two wickets down--rarely have the Sunrisers been at a position this good in the UAE leg of this IPL. But they imploded almost immediately, losing three wickets in the space seven balls from the start of the 15th over. RCB were quick to seize the momentum, bringing in Harshal Patel and Dan Christian to rein in the runs and force more errors. Key to their fortunes taking a turn for the worse was a catch--a brilliant caught-and-bowled at that.
Christian, 38 years young, landed a slower one that Roy had got the full measure of. But he hit it too straight and Christian stuck his hands out. There was a fumble or two but Christian had enough under the ball. “Lucky one for me,” said Christian after the Sunrisers innings. “Jason absolutely smashed that, I got lucky that it came straight into my hands. Was going well and it was a good wicket at that stage,” he said.
Christian was humble. Roy’s wicket literally put the brakes on Sunrisers’ innings. What unfolded was a narrative all too familiar--the middle and lower middle order of Sunrisers living up to their reputation of throwing away their wickets. Priyam Garg, Wriddhiman Saha and Jason Holder each got dismissed after crossing the 10-run mark. There was no effort to consolidate and build a partnership, only belligerent but unsuccessful attempts at clearing Abu Dhabi’s 81m boundary. Between Christian, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammed Siraj, RCB conceded just 36 runs in the last six overs.
