Home
In one of the most remarkable displays of power-hitting, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) blew away the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 15 (Monday). Travis Head began the carnage in what will be remembered as one of the most brutal batting displays of all time. Abhishek Sharma joined in the fun before setting the stage for the six-hitting machine Heinrich Klaasen, who launched one ball out of the ground with a monstrous hit. Abdul Samad didn't miss out and provided the finishing touch to what was an astonishing evening in Bengaluru.
With a 25-run win, the Sunrisers registered their fourth win of the season in six matches while the Bengaluru-based franchise lost their sixth match of the season in seven matches played.
RCB's pursuit of a gigantic target
Chasing a target of 288 runs, the Royal Challengers required luck along with some outrageous batsmanship. They need to go from ball one and, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis did exactly that. The first six overs of the run chase belonged to the home team as they notched 79 runs. Just when the Chinnaswamy was bouncing with delight and anticipating a historic run chase. But the hopes suffered a significant blow when Kohli departed soon after the powerplay after scoring 42 runs off 20 balls.
Du Plessis kept the belief alive in RCB supporters' hearts and completed his half-century but his valiant knock of 62 runs off 28 balls was ended by a Pat Cummins. RCB's middle order collapsed miserably but Dinesh Karthik refused to throw in the towel. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter fought along and long but the target was such that it required explosiveness from both ends.
Nevertheless, Karthik played one of the most outrageous knocks you will ever see in a run chase, even though it ended in a losing cause. The veteran batter single-handed kept the RCB in the hunt, even though by a long stretch and provided plenty of moments for fans to go berserk. Karthik's scintillating knock came to an end after he scored 83 runs off 35 balls with the help of 5 fours and 7 sixes.
For the Sunrisers, captain Cummins was the pick of all bowlers as he bagged three wickets in four overs and conceded 43 runs.
Head, Klaasen unleash hell on RCB
After RCB asked SRH to bat first, Australian batter Travis Head showcased his prowess by smashing the fourth-fastest century in IPL history. Alongside him, Heinrich Klaasen delivered a blazing half-century, propelling SRH to a monumental total of 287/3, setting a new record for the highest-ever score in cash-rich tournament history and the second-highest in all forms of T20 cricket.
SRH had previously set a remarkable total of 277/3 against Mumbai Indians on March 27, breaking the previous record.
Travis Head exhibited remarkable explosiveness as he reached his century in just 39 balls, forming a formidable 108-run partnership with opener Abhishek Sharma (34). Head's innings came to a close soon after, having amassed 102 runs off just 41 deliveries, including eight sixes and nine boundaries.
Wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen continued the onslaught on RCB's bowlers, smashing a quickfire 67 runs off 31 balls, adorned with seven sixes. Aiden Markram (32 not out off 17 balls) and Abdul Samad (37 not out off 10 balls) provided the finishing touches to SRH's innings.
Markram smashed two sixes while Samad launched three balls into the crowd. Opener Abhishek smashed two sixes in his innings knock as well. In total, the Sunrisers batters hit 22 sixes and 19 fours in their phenomenal display with the bat.
For RCB, Reece Topley conceded 68 runs while Vijaykumar Vyshak leaked 62 runs. Lockie Ferguson bagged two wickets at the expense of 52 runs while Yash Dayal leaked 51 runs.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
Cricket fraternity shocked as former Australia star cricketer arrested on over a dozen charges, including stalking, assault, choking and more
Shah Rukh Khan makes a special request to senior players in KKR dressing room after easy win over LSG, says ‘You have a lot of young kids...’
