IPL 2017 T20: Shane Watson says Kedar Jadhav’s run-out turning point for RCB

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Shane Watson has said the run-out of Kedar Jadhav was a turning point in the team’s 35-run loss to defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the opening game of the 2017 Indian Premier League.

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Shane Watson has said the run-out of Kedar Jadhav, thanks to some excellent fielding from Ben Cutting, was the turning point in the team’s 35-run loss to defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Uppal on Wednesday. (Full coverage IPL 2017)

Kedar Jadhav had smashed 31 off 16 balls but his run-out resulted in Royal Challengers Bangalore losing the game by 35 runs to defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the opening game of the 2017 Indian Premier League. (BCCI)

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Watson said, “At the half-way point, we were neck-to-neck with where the Sunrisers Hyderabad were at that point. But, Jadhav’s run-out was the turning point. He was batting really well. Ben Cutting’s fielding made the difference.”

In response to Sunrisers Hyderabad’s 207/4, RCB had gotten off to a good start with Chris Gayle (32) and Travis Head (30) starting off well. Jadhav had raced to 30 off 15 balls and at 116/2 in the 12th over, they were on course. In the fifth ball of Moises Henriques’ over, Jadhav worked a ball to long leg and looked for a second run but he was undone by a direct throw from Cutting to end his innings. With his dismissal, RCB lost eight wickets for 56 runs to lose the game.

Yuvraj Singh smashed 62 off 27 balls as Sunrisers Hyderabad posted a big total against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2017 IPL opener.

SRH got off to a great start in the 2017 edition by notching up 207/4 thanks to a brilliant 27-ball 62 from Yuvraj Singh. The dashing left-hander, who smashed his fastest IPL fifty off just 23 balls, survived a chance on 26 when Sreenath Aravind dropped him at square leg off Aniket Choudhary.

Watson said, “Yuvraj batted incredibly well. When you drop someone of his calibre, he can really hurt you.”

The RCB skipper lamented that poor execution in all departments was the prime reason for the loss. “We were too sloppy in the field and the execution with the ball was off. We lost wickets at the wrong time. The quick bowlers were not up to the mark. 207 was a big total. It was a great wicket. If we got one partnership, we could have chased this total down,” he said.

Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Delhi Daredevils at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Saturday while Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Gujarat Lions on Sunday.