Kohli ton trumps Klaasen’s as RCB coast to clinical win
RCB’s playoff hopes remained intact as their openers blazed past the target of 187 set by the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Thursday (18). The Bangalore franchise won the toss and asked SRH to bat first, and the hosts responded duly with a competitive total of 186-5, riding on the explosive hundred by Heinrich Klaasen, by far their best batsman of the season. However, an inspired performance by the RCB openers left the SRH bowling unit clueless as they coasted home by eight wickets.
Over the course of the tournament, many batting teams have gotten off to a terrific start in the powerplay before squandering it in the middle overs. A tight opening spell from Wayne Parnell and Mohammed Siraj had Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi in check. However, as soon as they cut loose against Parnell with a 16-run over to get the run-rate from sub-3rpo to almost 7rpo, Michael Bracewell scalped them both in his very first over, rendering the powerplay a failure for the SRH innings.
It was then that Heinrich Klaasen entered the arena and after blazing a flurry of boundaries got to his fifty off just 24 deliveries to rescue SRH. However, the supporting role from Markram ended up costing SRH 20 balls, in which he scored only eighteen runs, and despite a good innings from Harry Brook in the end, which contained a few lusty blows, it was undoing some of the good work done by Klaasen, who by the penultimate over got to his hundred with a six, at a strike-rate of over 200! If only the supporting roles had played their part, SRH would have gotten 200. Outside of Klaasen’s 51-ball 104 and extras, SRH scored 76 runs in 69 balls at a strike-rate of just over 100!
In retrospect, it was all over from Ball 1. The intent with which Virat Kohli hit the first two balls of the innings for boundaries, it looked like it was over for SRH. Kohli and orange-cap holder Faf du Plessis wreaked havoc, taking on the SRH bowlers indiscriminately, hitting through the line and invariably finding the gaps, leaving the SRH contingent clueless in defence of an admittedly-competitive target. As compared to previous innings, this time, the mayhem did not cease, despite a touch of luck – Nitish Reddy was denied a maiden IPL wicket, because he overstepped, rendering a terrific catch by Mayank Dagar futile, and handing Faf du Plessis a life.
It didn’t quite have the asterisk on his score as it used to, but Virat Kohli was back, and this time, he was taking no half-measures in taking RCB to the title. The two openers continued to toy with the SRH bowling, and Kohli eventually got to his sixth IPL hundred, fittingly, with a six lofted over midwicket off the bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, equalling the IPL record of Chris Gayle for the most hundreds in the history of the tournament. Kohli fell the very next ball, targeting the same area, but this time he had all but secured victory for his side.
It wasn’t exactly a scare, but the scars of the past couldn’t stop the thought of the inevitable choke. Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis had fallen, with 10 required off 10, and two new batsmen at the crease. Stranger things had happened in cricket, and perhaps in this very edition of the IPL. However, a typical reverse-swat from Maxwell off the final ball of Natarajan’s spell sealed the deal leaving 3 to get off the final over, which the pair managed to get in the first two balls of the final over, sealing victory for RCB, and keeping them well and truly alive in this competition.
This win gets RCB into the top four, for now, and gives them enough control, with them playing the final game of the league stages too (albeit against the top ranked side of the tournament). Despite that hundred by Klaasen, SRH remain at the bottom, and look like strong contenders for the wooden spoon this year. Both the teams play their last games on the final day of the league stage – Sunday, May 21. T
Brief Scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 186-5 in 20 overs(Heinrich Klaasen 104, Michael Bracewell 2-17)lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 187-2 in 19.2 overs(Virat Kohli 100, Faf du Plessis 71, T Natarajan 1-34)by 8 wickets.
(Cricbuzz)
