Virat Kohli and David Warner after the Eliminator match
One such clash between these teams took place in IPL 2020 when they clashed in the Eliminator. RCB fans thought it was their opportunity to gain another step for the IPL finals but SRH surely had some different plans. Let’s go back to the classic IPL playoff match played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IPL 2020 edition was being played in the United Arab Emirates. Both SRH and RCB finished at the third and fourth spots respectively in the points table, as they went against each other in the Eliminator clash against Abu Dhabi. Winning the toss in this match, Sunrisers Hyderabad decided to bowl first, taking advantage of the chasing conditions of this ground.
Royal Challengers Bangalore didn’t have a good start to their innings, as the pitch definitely didn’t favour the batsmen. Their skipper, Virat Kohli, lost his wicket in the second over after scoring 6 runs, and his wicket was quickly followed by Devdutt Padikkal, who got out in the fourth over scoring just 1 run off six balls. Jason Holder struck twice within the powerplay, taking down both openers of RCB.
At the time when the team needed a settled partnership, Aaron Finch and AB de Villiers stepped down to the crease and did the same. Considering the pitch conditions, they were able to score well. Within the powerplay, the team scored 32 runs for the loss of 2 wickets, which shows the early dominance of SRH with its bowling line-up.
The pitch conditions surely favoured the bowlers, which can be known by the fact that despite having Aaron Finch and AB de Villiers at the crease, RCB crossed the 50-run mark in 9.2 overs. The fans knew they would be having a low scoring but also a thriller match, considering the bowling line-up of both teams.
Later, Aaron Finch lost his wicket to Shahbaz Nadeem in the 11th over, after scoring 32 runs off 30 balls. This was quickly followed by the wicket of Moeen Ali, who got out on a golden duck, followed by a run out off a sharp throw by Rashid Khan. To add more to their wounds, wickets fell down consistently for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, putting the team in a more challenging situation.
AB de Villiers knew it was a now or never type of situation for him, as he took some risks to ensure that his team reached a par level score which could be defended at this ground. Following the quick wickets, de Villiers also completed his half-century in 39 balls with just 5 fours. Just when the death overs started, AB de Villiers also lost his wicket to T Natarajan.
Being bowled off a delivery against Natarajan, de Villiers walked disappointed to the pavilion, as the hopes of RCB fans also vanished with his wicket. But he played well according to the pitch conditions, scoring 56 runs off 43 balls. Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj further played the last few balls of the innings.
As a result, Royal Challengers Bangalore finished with the score of 131 runs with 7 wickets down in 20 overs. The major reason behind this par-level score put down by the team was AB de Villiers, who put up a magnificent half-century. Jason Holder dominated with the bowl for Sunrisers Hyderabad, taking 3 crucial wickets for the team.
The target surely seemed small and easy for a team like Sunrisers Hyderabad to chase, but they also didn’t have an easy start. Mohammed Siraj was able to give an opening wicket to RCB in the very first over, as Sreevats Goswami lost his wicket without even scoring a run for his team. Following his wicket, David Warner and Manish Pandey started their fine strokeplay.
But RCB took another wicket within the powerplay and this was also done by Mohammed Siraj. In the 6th over, Siraj bowled a great delivery to Warner, which was edged and caught by AB de Villiers standing behind the stumps. The Alien didn’t only just contribute to the team with the bat, but he also helped in taking the important wickets with the gloves.
Taking advantage of the situation, Virat Kohli bought his spin attack to play. And his captaincy skills can’t be doubted, as Manish Pandey lost his wicket to Adam Zampa in the 9th over. Pandey scored 24 runs in 21 balls, with three fours, but now it was his time to go to the pavilion and hope that his team won this crucial match.
With Adam Zampa taking wickets, Yuzvendra Chahal also decided to join the party as he took the wicket of Priyam Garg in the 12th over, dismissing him for 7 runs in 14 balls. Things looked more challenging for Sunrisers Hyderabad at this time, but Kane Williamson and Jason Holder had some different plans.
They started off well, as the RCB bowlers were clearly struggling to take their wickets. Following this, Hyderabad finally crossed the 100-run mark in 16.4 overs, and was still a lot behind in the required run rate. But in the 18th over, Devdutt Padikkal dropped a catch, which could’ve changed the match scenario. To add more to the team’s wounds, SRH also ended up scoring 10 runs off the same over.
Mohammed Siraj also conceded 9 runs off his over, and now it was in the hands of Navdeep Saini to defend 9 runs in the last over. He started off the over well with just a single off the first two balls but SRH batsmen sent the next two balls for consecutive fours, allowing their team to win the match with 6 wickets and 2 balls remaining.
Kane Williamson, for his half-century in just 44 balls and staying not out till the end, won the Player of the Match award, as Sunrisers Hyderabad qualified for the next stage of the playoffs. The match was surely a nail biter, as Jason Holder came in as the team’s real game changer, taking 3 wickets and also scoring 24 runs.