New Delhi : Debutant Devdutt Padikkal and AB de Villiers hammered a half-century each before bowlers came to the fore as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat SunRisers Hyderbad by 10 runs to kick start their campaign at the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on a winning note at the Dubai International Stadium on Monday.
The David Warner-led side won the toss and opted to bowl first against Virat Kohli’s RCB in their opening match of this year’s lucrative T20 tournament.
Padikkal (56) provided a perfect start to Bangalore-based franchise as he not only smashed his maiden IPL fifty but also stitched a crucial 90-run partnership with Aaron Finch (29) to take his side close to 100-run mark.
Subsequently, Indian skipper Virat Kohli failed to contribute much to his side’s innings and departed for 13-ball 14.
AB de Villiers then hammered a quick-fire 30-ball 51 to help RCB post 163 for five in their stipulated 20 overs.
For SunRisers Hyderabad, T Natarajan, Vijay Shankar and Abhishekh Sharma chipped in with a wicket each.
In reply, the Hyderabad franchise lost skipper David Warner cheaply for six runs.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow then scored a significant knock of 43-ball 61 runs besides sharing a 71-run stand with Manish Pandey (34) to rebuild SunRisers Hyderabad’s innings.
However, the two departed in quick succession off Yuzvendra Chahal’s deliveries.Following the two’s departure, the SRH fell like a pack of cards to get eventually bundled out for 153 in 19.4 overs.
Chahal was the pick of the bowlers for RCB with brilliant figures of three for 18. Shivam Dube and Navdeep Saini bagged two wickets each, while Dale Steyn also added a wicket to his account.
Chahal was also adjudged ‘Man of the Match’ for his impressive show with the ball.
Royals Challengers Bangalore will now lock horns with Kings XI Punjab on September 24 in Dubai, while SunRisers Hyderabad will face Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi on September 26.
Royal Chellangers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli on Monday (September 21) lauded spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for his three-wicket haul, which helped the RCB register a 10-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
Chahal dismissed Englishman Jonny Bairstow (61) and Vijay Shankar in successive balls in the 16th over to change the course of the game. Earlier, Chahal had also claimed the wicket of Manish Pandey (34) in the 12th over.
“It’s amazing to be honest. Last year, we were on the other side of the result, 6-nil to start. It is nice to be 1-nil. We kept our composure tonight,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
“Yuzi (Chahal) comes in and completely changed the game for us. Not many spinners got much out of the pitch, but tonight he showed that you can turn it if you have it in your wrists. He showed he can get purchase on any wicket. The way he came in and bowled attacking lines, he changed the game,” he added.
Talking about RCB’s batting, Kohli said, “We started really well. Devdutt was really good on debut, Finchy as well. AB batting in the last three overs helped us push it past 160.”
Asked if he thought 163 was a good target, the RCB skipper said, “When you lose two in two, you have to consolidate. If not for two in two, you were looking at maybe 10-20 runs more. In the past if we had 43 off 5, you’d see the shoulders dropping but the guys kept believing, kept attacking. Someone like Washy not bowling enough and a part-timer doing it are good signs. The fact that we didn’t let negativity slip into the bowling group was a great sign.”
Chahal, who was adjudged Player of the match said, “When I bowled my first over, I realized I need to bowl stump-to-stump line and backed myself. At one point they were batting well and I was trying to bowl loopy ones and wide of the reach which helped in building pressure.”
