Sunrisers Hyderabad entered the clash with Royal Challengers Bangalore in a a do-or-die position. The David Warner-led side needed to win their last two games to have any hopes of making it to the top-four, and they begun on the right note as they inflicted a heavy defeat on the RCB unit. After restricting the side to just 120 runs, SRH chased down the target in just 14.1 overs to give a huge boost to their Net Run Rate.
Here are the talking points from the game.
Virat Kohli is Sandeep Sharma’s bunny!
Sandeep Sharma picked up Kohli for the seventh time in the history of the IPL on Saturday – the most that any bowler has dismissed the Indian skipper in the tournament. The swing bowler wass asked to bowl a third over by David Warner upfront when Kohli walked out to bat early, and Sharma did not disappoint as he took the pace off, varied his lengths and lines. On Saturday, Sharma asked the wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha to come up to the wickets and then tempted Kohli with a delivery that was less than 130kmph.
Kohli fell into the trap and could only hit it to short extra cover, as Sharma and SRH celebrated.
Now that is some record to hold! #Dream11IPL #IPL2020 #RCBvsSRH #RCB #SRH #sharma #Kohli #cricketnews pic.twitter.com/QufNFvRLR0
— Cricket News (@cricketnews_com) October 31, 2020
SRH go all out with the bat
SRH anticipated that the eventual points table and the teams that go into the playoffs would be decided by the Net Run Rate, and they batted with intent from the word go. After the bowlers had done a fine job and restricted RCB to just 120, the opening duo of David Warner and Wriddhiman Saha did not waste any deliveries or take the extra-cautious approach as they raced away to 58 for 1 in the first six overs. Though RCB picked up a few quick wickets, the start ensured that SRH were never in trouble, and they finished off the game in 14.1 overs after a wonderful cameo by Jason Holder.
The heavy loss meant that RCB’s NRR is poorer than Kings XI Punjab’s, which could come to hurt them if they lose their last clash and Punjab end up winning on Sunday.
#SRH get to No.4 in the Points Table after Match 52 of #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/y4ElJcd4w4
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 31, 2020
Jason Holder has been the X-factor for SRH
Prior to the start of the IPL, the four foreigners in the SRH team were slated to be Rashid Khan, David Warner, Jonny Bairstow and Kane Williamson/Mohammed Nabi. The injury to Mitchell Marsh in the first match of SRH’s campaign meant that Jason Holder was flown in, and the West Indian has impressed massively, so much so that the management was forced to break their highly successful opening pair of Warner-Bairstow to accommodate him. In just 4 games, Holder has picked up 8 wickets, including best figures of 3 for 33, and he played a crucial cameo against RCB, smashing 26 in just 10 deliveries to ensure that the team got over the line without further hiccups.
Holder lends experience to the SRH batting unit that had been overly reliant on Warner and Kane Williamson, which has allowed the SRH skipper to play his natural game in the last few games.