Yesterday IPL match result: RCB suffer heavy defeat to SRH but win the table war
HYDERABAD: The scoreboard said Royal Challengers Bengaluru needed 256 to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad, but the chase carried another set of numbers. SRH needed to restrict RCB below 165 to force their way into the top two, while the visitors had to protect their net run rate to stay ahead of Gujarat Titans. In the end, SRH won the match by 55 runs, but RCB won the table arithmetic.
The visitors finished on 200/4, enough to end the league phase on top with 18 points and a net run rate of +0. 783. Gujarat Titans, also on 18 points, finished second with +0.
695, while SRH, despite their emphatic win, had to settle for third with +0. 524. The visitors were off to a flying start, reaching 50 in 3.
4 overs. Venkatesh Iyer (44 off 19 balls; 4x4, 4x6) took 23 runs off Shivang Kumar’s fourth over, hitting three sixes and a four, before Eshan Malinga removed him in the next over. Sakib Hussain then struck in the sixth over, dismissing Virat Kohli for 15, as RCB ended the Powerplay at 75/2.
Malinga struck again in his third over to remove Devdutt Padikkal (21 off 14; 2x4, 1x6). RCB slowed down after the Powerplay but captain Rajat Patidar (56 off 39; 6x4, 1x6) and Krunal Pandya (41 not out off 31; 5x4) ensured they crossed the required netrun-rate markers before finishing on 200/4. Earlier, the Sunrisers toporder showed just how dangerous they can be ahead of the playoffs.