After losing six matches in a row in the last season, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) surely must be happy to be on the other side of the spectrum in IPL 2020.
After losing six matches in a row in the last season, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) surely must be happy to be on the other side of the spectrum in IPL 2020.
RCB did not start well with the ball and looked clueless once Jonny Bairstow found his mojo, however, things turned around pretty quickly as SRH went from 121-2, to slip to 153 all-out.
Yuzvendra Chahal played a huge role in this game by dismissing Bairstow and Vijay Shankar off successive deliveries - which became the turning point of the game.
RCB would be pleased as they managed to start their season with a win.
1. Debutant Devdutt Padikkal's smashes against SRH
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Young batsman Devdutt Padikkal made his IPL debut after being chosen in the playing XI. The 20-year-old opened with Australian star Aaron Finch as SRH won the toss and opted to bowl first.
The youngster scored a half-century on his debut as he went on a smashing 56 runs in 42 balls. He even hit the ball for four, eight times.
In the last one year, Devdutt has scored more than 1000 runs in domestic cricket. He helped Karnataka win the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year. Devdutt scored 609 runs in just 11 matches which included two centuries and five half-centuries.
As for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the batsman scored 548 runs in 12 matches. His strike rate is above 178 while the average is above 64. In this tournament, he scored a century and five half-centuries.
2. AB de Villiers' 360 performance
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AB de Villiers was on 199 sixes for RCB before the clash and surely the Mr. 360 did not disappoint the fans as he reached his 200 sixes.
The veteran South African reached the feat by smashing Sandeep Singh's slower delivery for a maximum which took him to the milestone of 200 sixes for RCB.
De Villiers has been part of the RCB unit since 2011 and has been one of the most exciting players to watch in the tournament for the past few years now.
3. Mitchell Marsh's injury
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Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh left the field after bowling just four deliveries in the match. Marsh has had an injury struck last few years.
The incident took place on the second ball of Marsh's over, when, in an attempt to save a run, ended up hurting his ankle.
Marsh continued to bowl two more deliveries before eventually limping off the field. He, however, came back to bat in the second innings but could be seen limping.
The injury looks bad and he could be out for a while.
4. Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey partnership
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The second inning started bad for SRH after the unlucky dismissal of David Warner, however, Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey made sure to steady the innings.
The duo steadied the innings for Hyderabad as Jonny Bairstow even brought up his half-century in just 38 balls. As for Pandey, he scored 34 off 33 balls.
Soon after the departure of the two, the innings fell and the batting unit collapsed like a pack of cards.
5. Games changer Yuzvendra Chahal
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Yuzvendra Chahal proved again why he is the best in what he does. The spinner produced a moment of magic as he picked up two crucial wickets in his final over.
Chahal was brought into the attack by skipper Virat Kohli at the time when Jonny Bairstow was propelling SRH with his incredible innings.
However, Chahal came in and dismissed Bairstow (61) with a back of the length delivery and rattled his stumps. Yuzvi's spin magic did not end there as he went on to dismiss SRH all-rounder Vijay Shankar on the very next ball for a duck.
