When it comes to the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the boundary rope goes out of relevance. It is all about the distance and the airtime of the cricket ball off the bat. Small Ground, true pitch and the RCB batting lineup, it is the perfect recipe for entertainment for the crowd and a nightmare for the opposition bowlers. Traditionally, the Chinnaswamy has always been a high scoring ground and chasing has been the preferred option for most teams. It was no different today as the Sunrisers Captain David Warner won the toss and elected to field. Teams back themselves to chase any target on this pitch and the decision looked wise until the RCB started batting.
Virat Kohli came out to open with Christopher Gayle to a rousing reception from the home crowd. Gayle fell cheaply to Bhuvneshwar Kumar much to the relief of the Sunrisers but no bowler can be happy to see AB De Villiers coming out to bat. And then began the carnage. De Villiers started early with what he does quite often, flaying the bowlers all around the ground. Kohli just gave De Villiers the strike initially but as his eyes got set, he too joined in the party. Two of the best batsmen in the world right now, were batting together in full flow, firing on all cylinders. It was definitely a sight to savor.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned in the 16th over to send Virat Kohli back with a straight Yorker to pick up his second wicket.
But it was too little too late by then. Kohli and De Villiers had added a record 157 runs for the second wicket in just about 14 overs.Kohli scored 75 off 51 balls. De Villiers fell to Mustafizur in the 18th Over of the innings for a magnificent 82 runs off just 42 deliveries filled with 6 monstrous maximums. Shane Watson also fell off the next ball from Mustafizur after a short cameo with 3 consecutive sixes in the previous over. The closing blast came from the young Sarfaraz Khan who smashed 35 runs in just 10 balls with his gutsy and innovative stroke play. At the end of 20 overs RCB were 227 for 4.
If Sunrisers were to chase down 228, it was imperative for the opening pair of Warner and Shikhar Dhawan to fire collectively. Warner raced away with his innings with some powerful blows but Dhawan did not last long, being bowled by Parvez Rasool in the 4th over by a sharp turning off break for just 8 runs off 9 balls. Warner kept the fight going with a 25 ball 58, but as he fell in the 9th over, the chase came off the track with SRH losing a total of 4 wickets within 15 runs in the mid overs. Other batsmen just went through the motions and finished at 182 for 6 at the end of their 20 overs, giving RCB their first win with a massive 45 runs.
SRH needs to take out the positives from this game and look to pick their morale up from this drubbing.
Mustafizur’s bowling being the lone bright spot, SRH would desperately need to get their act together in coming matches
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