Headlines
Easy win for Sunrisers over Royal Challengers
Bengaluru, April 13
Skipper David Warner blasted a 27-ball 57 (6x4, 4x6) to help Sunrisers
Hyderabad notch their first success in two outings with an eight-wicket
win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League T20
tournament here on Monday.
Warner and fellow-opener Shikhar
Dhawan (50 not out, 42b, 4x6, 2x4) put on 82 runs in 7.2 overs as
Sunrisers hunted down RCB's total of 166 all out, posting 172 for two in
17.2 overs.
Dhawan played a mature innings as he along with
Lokesh Rahul (44, 28b, 4x4, 1x6) added 78 runs for the unfinished third
wicket to carry Sunrisers over the finish line in style.
Warner
thus justified his decision of opting to field on winning the toss on a
damp night following heavy rains in the evening. Fortunately, the rains
stayed away, but the large partisan crowd was left disappointed by RCB's
limp performance.
Warner's power-packed innings took much the
pressure off the chase as the visitors took control while Virat Kohli's
Royal Challengers turned increasingly disheartened as Sunrisers made
light of the target.
The closest that RCB came to checking the
chase was when leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal removed Warner, who was
trapped leg-before and Kane Williamson (5), stumped by Dinesh Karthik,
but Dhawan dropped anchor to guide Sunrisers home.
Earlier, RCB
promised a lot but delivered little as their frontline batsmen, openers
Chris Gayle (21, 16b, 3x4, 1x6) and Kohli (41, 37b, 4x4, 2x6), and AB de
Villiers (46, 28b, 5x4, 2x6) failed to build on good starts.
Once
the Sunrisers got rid of Gayle who chanced his arms once too often, it
was a gradual downhill ride for the home team although Kohli and de
Villiers raised visions of a big total.
Sunrisers kept their
composure to strike telling blows at vital moments with Boult claiming
three wickets in the 19th over and fellow-seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar
taking two in the 20th to peg RCB after Ravi Bopara, the former England
star, had removed Kohli and Mandeep Singh off consecutive deliveries, in
the 12th over.
RCB never quite recovered from these body blows
to crash to their first defeat in two outings while the Sunrisers, who
played better cricket, emerged deserving winners.
Brief scores:
Royal
Challengers Bangalore 166 all out in 19.5 overs (Chris Gayle 21, Virat
Kohli 41, AB de Villiers 46, Trent Boult 3 for 36, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2
for 30, Ravi Bopara 2 for 31) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 172 for 2
(David Warner 57, Shikhar Dhawan 50 not out, Lokesh Rahul 44 not out,
Yuzvendra Chahal 2 for 28) by 8 wickets.