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Sunrisers Hyderabad thrash Royal Challengers Bangalore by 15 runs in IPL 2016 Match 27 at Hyderabad

KL Rahul scored a superb 51 but the big guns failed for RCB while the SRH bowlers did wonderfully to win by 15 runs in Match 27 of Indian Premier League 2016 at Hyderabad.

Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off an effortless win © AFP
Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off an effortless win © AFP

KL Rahul played a superb innings but for once the big guns failed for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won by 15 runs in Match 27 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 at Hyderabad. Virat Kohli got a start but failed to convert it, but while AB de Villiers scored a good 47, he was unable to see things through. Shane Watson was done in by a superb piece of fielding to get run out taking what looked like a straightforward run. With all three of RCB’s main batsmen having failed, the chase was always going to be out of RCB’s grasp. To their credit, the SRH bowlers did a commendable job of keeping the pressure on. Full Cricket Scorecard: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2016 Match 27 at Hyderabad

Kohli and Rahul got RCB off to a good start, putting on 42 in a little more than 5 overs. Kohli, who was taking his time to get his eye in, smacked one from Mustafizur Rahman firmly to point, but Ashish Reddy took a fine catch to end Kohli’s knock for 14 from 17 balls. That brought in de Villiers at No. 3, and kicked off the best phase for RCB. Sadly, it did not last too long. The second-wicket partnership produced 41 in less than 5 overs. Rahul went on to score his second successive half-century before getting an outside edge while trying to get the ball to third man. He was dismissed for 51 off 28 balls with 6 fours and 1 six, caught behind by Naman Ojha off Moises Henriques. Full Cricket Blog: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2016 Match 27 at Hyderabad

Watson came in to bat at No. 4, but his stay was all too brief. Batting on 1, Watson played the ball to square leg and set off for two. The fielder, Barinder Sran, fired in a jet-like throw from the deep to catch Watson a fraction of an inch short of his crease. RCB were still not out of it though; Watson was still in the middle. But it was that same man, Sran, who virtually killed the chase when he had de Villiers hole out to Kane Williamson for a 32-ball 47 with 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Sachin Baby and Kedar Jadhav kept the chase alive, but by then RCB needed someone of the class of Kohli or de Villiers. Baby hit Ashish Nehra to Shikhar Dhawan for 27 off 16 with 3 fours and 1 six, while Kedar Jadhav scored an unbeaten 25 runs at the end as well, but in the end SRH cantered to an 15-run easy win.

Earlier, David Warner scored a scintillating 92 and Kane Williamson made a disciplined 50 to launch SRH to a massive 194 for 5. Warner showed his intent early by hitting a boundary off only the second ball of the innings, bowled by Kane Williamson. Shikhar Dhawan looked in decent nick as well, hitting Shane Watson for a boundary in the next over. Parvez Rasool was hit over mid on as well by Dhawan. Warner pulled Richardson for another four in the following over, but Richardson managed to get Dhawan out caught and bowled to give RCB their first wicket. It would be the only cause for celebration for more than 10 overs.

Kane Williamson, playing only his third IPL match and his first of the season, came in to bat at No. 3 for SRH. Varun Aaron dragged things back slightly with a 5-run over, but Harshal Patel was hit for 2 fours and 1 six as 16 runs were scored off the next over. Warner was batting fluently by now, and he made sure Tabraiz Shamsi did not settle in his next over, cutting the Chinaman for a boundary. Parvez Rasool continued his impressive spell with another quiet over from the other end, but Warner hit Aaron for 2 fours in the next over. The trend continued for much of the innings: a quiet over was often followed by an expensive one so SRH ensured the momentum kept flowing.

Warner and Williamson went from strength to strength, with the former finding the boundary with ridiculous ease, and the latter churning the strike with ease. The duo put on 124 runs in quick time before Warner’s blitz finally came to an end. It was the impressive Shamsi who finally got rid of the SRH captain, getting him to slice one to AB de Villiers at long off. Warner had hit 9 fours and 5 sixes, one of which was almost a helicopter shot played from outside off stump over cow corner. Warner also usurped Virat Kohli as the holder of the Orange Cap in the course of his knock.

Williamson soon compiled his maiden IPL half-century, off 37 balls. However, he was dismissed off the next ball, feathering an outside edge off Watson to wicketkeeper KL Rahul. SRH had suddenly lost both their set batsmen and the total of 200, which looked like a probability a couple of overs ago, now  seemed unlikely. Naman Ojha was soon dismissed as well, holing out to de Villiers at long on off Richardson. Deepak Hooda was run out for 2 in the final over.

However, SRH still had one ace up their sleeve. Moises Henriques, who had done little of note till this point in the tournament, finally showed why he was preferred over Eoin Morgan in the team. The all-rounder smashed 1 four and 3 sixes in an innings of 31 not out off just 14 balls. It was not enough to get 200, but it still gave SRH a huge total to defend.

Brief scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad 194 for 5 in 20 overs (David Warner 92, Kane Williamson 50; Kane Richardson 2 for 45) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 179 for 6 (KL Rahul 51, AB de Villiers 47; Ashish Nehra 1 for 32) by 15 runs.

Full Scorecard

Man of the Match: David Warner

(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is an animal lover and comic, film and TV geek. A fast bowler at heart, he enjoys watching a good, low-scoring game of cricket. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)

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