Virat Kohli’s sixth Indian Premier League (IPL) century outside Heinrich Klaasen’s maiden IPL century as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets to keep their playoffs chances as well. While Kohli equalled Chris Gayle’s tally of centuries in IPL, this was the first time in tournament’s history a century is scored on either side.
Blazing start
Kohli got off to a fantastic start with two fours off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma ploy did not help as Kohli hit him for two fours. Du Plessis joined Kohli and hit Kartik Tyagi for three consecutive fours. Glenn Phillips made the huge mistake of dropping his catch at deep square leg. Tyagi conceded 18 runs from his first over. Du Plessis hit Bhuvneshwar for a six and a four in the fifth over. After powerplay overs, RCB had 64 runs on the board.
Kohli, Du Plessis continue to fire
Kohli and Du Plessis fired from both ends. In the ninth over, Du Plessis went for a pull but got caught. He reviewed it for a no ball as it was the second short ball of the over. The decision was reversed. Du Plessis was batting on 41 then. At halfway stage, RCB were 95/0. In the 12th over, Kohli and Du Plessis got to their respective half-centuries. The big-hitting continued as the openers punished SRH bowlers. In the 15th over, Kohli took the game away with four consecutive fours. Mayank Dagar finished well as he conceded just 25 runs from his quota of four overs.
Kohli hits IPL ton after 4 years
In the 18th over, Kohli went after Bhuvneshwar again and hit him for a six to reach his sixth IPL hundred and first in four years. He reached his century from 62 balls. However, he got out next ball. Kohli scored 100 runs from 63 balls including 12 fours and four sixes. In the penultimate over, Du Plessis hit Nataraj for a boundary. Next ball, he went for the big shot but got caught by the long-off fielder. The skipper scored 71 runs from 47 balls including seven fours and two sixes. After his wicket, RCB needed 10 runs off 10 balls. Glenn Maxwell finished the over with a boundary. In the last over, Michael Bracewell hit the winning shot. RCB finished the run chase with eight wickets in hand and four balls to spare.
Klaasen arrives after poor opening stand
Earlier, Du Plessis won the toss and opted to field first. SRH got off to a slow start as 11 runs were scored off the first three overs. In the fourth over, Wayne Parnell conceded 16 runs. Michael Bracewell struck twice in the fifth over. Abhishek played it straight to cover-point fielder Mahipal Lomror. He scored 11 runs off 14 balls including two fours. Tripathi went for a sweep but miscued it and got caught at short fine leg by Harshal Patel. Tripathi scored just 15 runs from 12 balls including two fours and a six. Klaasen got off to a terrific start. He smashed Shahbaz Ahmed for three fours. SRH were 49/2 after six overs. Klaasen continued to attack whereas Markram took his time to settle. At halfway stage, SRH were 81/2.
Klaasen's maiden IPL ton
In the 11th over, Klaasen reached his half-century from just 24 balls. Markram's troubled stay at the crease ended in the 13th over as he got bowled by Shahbaz. Markram scored 18 runs from 20 balls. Harry Brook joined Klaasen in the middle and big hits came from both ends. Karn Sharma conceded 21 runs from his third over including two sixes and a four. Klaasen took on Shahbaz again and hit him for two consecutive sixes in the 17th over. In the penultimate over, the Proteas batter reached his maiden IPL century with a massive six. He breached the three figures from just 48 balls. Patel managed to take Klaasen's wicket in the same over. The South African batter scored 104 runs from 51 balls including eight fours and six sixes. Phillips got off the mark with a four. Mohammed Siraj finished well as he conceded just four runs and got the wicket of Phillips last ball. Brook's 19-ball 27 helped SRH post 186/5.
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