Thanks to the Indian spin duo of Karn Sharma and Swapnil Singh, who combined for four wickets, Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium by 35 runs on Thursday, ending their six-match winning streak in the ongoing IPL 2024. While SRH suffered their first defeat in five games, RCB secured their second victory of the current campaign; they had previously triumphed at home against Punjab Kings on March 25.
Hyderabad’s prolific batting squad, which has already smashed several IPL batting records this season, had a target of 207 runs after the Faf du Plessis-led visiting side won the toss and scored a par 206 for 7. But all the hosts could manage was 171 for eight.
Superstar Indian batsman Virat Kohli, who is now the owner of the Orange Cap, opened with a slow 43 balls in 51 and put up a 48-run opening partnership with Plessis, who was dismissed after hitting 12 balls in 25. Rajat Patidar’s explosive 20-ball fifty, nevertheless, was what helped Bengaluru reach the large total. In retaliation, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, the openers for Hyderabad, were unable to establish a rapport. The Australian fell to spinner Will Jacks for just one run in the opening over, and Sunrisers were reduced to 2-37 after Sharma smashed 31 off 13 balls in the fourth over. In the eighth over of the chase, Karn and Swapnil removed three crucial middle-order wickets, namely Aiden Markram (7), Nitish Kumar Reddy (13), and Heinrich Klaasen (7), to leave Hyderabad at 5-69.
Even though RCB ended their losing streak, they still only have four points, one more than Punjab Kings, but the difference is due to a lower net run rate of -0.721. However, Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are currently in third place with 10 points from five games, also manage to hold onto their position. However, the defeat undoubtedly puts teams like the Chennai Super Kings (8), in fifth place, and the Lucknow Super Giants (10 points), in fourth place, breathing down their necks.
