IPL 2023, SRH vs RCB: Kohli-Faf duo thrash SRH at home, Klaasen ton in vain; RCB move to 4th spot
IPL 2023, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Heinrich Klaasen's 104, Virat Kohli-Faf du Plessis' 172-run stand and Mohammed Siraj's 1-17 are top performances. RCB beat SRH and move past Mumbai Indians in points table.
Brief Scores RCB 187/2 (Kohli 100, du Plessis 71, Natarajan 1/34) beat SRH 186/5 (Klaasen 104, Brook 27*, Bracewell 2/13) beat by 8 wickets.
Player Of The Match: Virat Kohli (100 off 63)
The Royal Challengers Bangalore in a must-win clash took on the hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. In the end, RCB stayed alive in the tournament thanks to a clinical batting display by their openers and especially Virat Kohli.
Kohli-Du Plessis Forge an Unstoppable Partnership as Bangalore Triumphs Against Hyderabad
Opting to field first looked like a perfect decision by RCB as Michael Bracewell got wickets of SRH’s openers Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi in the same over but despite that, the hosts reached 49 runs in the power plays. Post that it was Klaasen's show where he stamped his authority in his 70+ stands with skipper Aiden Markram (18) first and then Harry Brook (27*) in his splendid knock of 104 where his first fifty came in 24 balls and the next in 25 balls as SRH reached a competitive score of 186/5, a total which could be slightly short courtesy of a great last over (4 runs) by Mohammed Siraj who ended up with 1/17 in his four.
RCB in their pursuit of 187, got off to a blazing start with their openers Kohli and Faf making 64 runs in the power plays. The experienced pair played some pleasing boundaries in that period (10 fours) taking turns to dominate the proceedings. Though runs dried a little post that phase, the dynamic duo mixed caution with aggression as Kohli scored his first IPL ton in 4 years before getting out on 100 to Bhuvneshwar. Despite losing Faf soon after, RCB stormed through the chase easily by 8 wickets.
Read More: IPL 2023, RR vs RCB: Rajasthan batters fall like pack of cards, playoffs chances seriously dented
Talking Points: The SRH Poor Team Selection
SRH team selection is a talking point. For a game such as this, they opted to drop Marco Jansen and Markande who have been doing decently well in this tournament. The decision to change to a settled bowling unit backfired as SRH didn’t have any support bowlers for the duo of Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar. In the end, their inexperience came them to haunt in the defense of a competitive 187 on a slow surface.
Let us scan the key performances of the SRH vs RCB game of IPL 2023
Heinrich Klaasen scores a stunning 49-ball ton
One of the few shining spots for SRH in an otherwise IPL 2023 season,