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, Heinrich Klaasen continued to his run of form in the home against RCB. After a string of consistent performances where he scored 2 fifties and a couple of 30+ scores in his last 5 innings, Klaasen was at his lethal best in this 51-ball 104 knock.
He carried on from where he left off the other day against GT and was playing the spin well on a slow surface that had been purchased for slow bowlers. The South African keeper-batsman took on all the bowlers in his stunning innings which included 8 boundaries and 6 sixes.
The kolhi-Faf partnership took the center stage
The pitch was definitely on the slower side and as the innings progressed the run-making was that much more difficult, but the opening pair of Virat Kohli and Captain Faf du Plessis launched an attack on the SRH bowlers right from the word go.
Kohli began with 2 fours off these first 2 balls and then there was no looking as cumulatively they hit 10 boundaries in the power play period. They brought up their 50-run stand in 26 and got to their 4th-century run stand in IPL off 67 balls. Faf reached his fifty in 34 deliveries while Kohli took a ball more to get to the mark. There was no stopping the duo post that as they walloped a whopping 55 runs in the 5-over period between 11-15 with Kohli smashing 4 fours off a Bhuvneshwar’s over.
The former RCB skipper smashed his 6th IPL in 62 balls and Faf ended his innings at 71 with the pair making 172 runs for the opening wicket.
Mohammad Siraj stars yet again with the ball
Mohammed Siraj is bowling at his best than ever in the T20 format and he yet again showed his class with a great burst of bowling at different phases of innings. Taking the new ball, he gave away only 6 runs off his 2 overs and this kept the SRH powerplay score to 49/2.
He came in the middle phase of the innings for a solitary over before bowling a superlative final over where the pacer gave away only 4 runs. This proved to be the difference as RCB won the game in the final over.
Read More: IPL 2023: Veteran Du Plessis, young Yashasvi & impactful Axar among top performers of the season
What’s Next And The Points Table
With this win, RCB gave themselves a more than a decent chance of making it to the playoffs. These 2 important points take them to 4th spot and 14 points with the last league game against GT to go at Bengaluru on 21st May.
SRH already eliminated will play for pride against MI on 21st and a win for them would derail MI’s chances of reaching the playoffs.
IPL 2023 Points Table
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