It is not often that Bangalore gets to secure their place in the playoffs of the Indian T20 League with two matches yet to be played. They have done that in this season, thanks to three victories on the trot.
Hence, when they took on Hyderabad in this match, a place in the playoffs was not at stake. Instead, Virat Kohli and his boys had their gazes fixed on a top two place, which will give them two chances to get to the grand finale.
Prior to this match, Bangalore had 16 points in their account, while the second-placed team, Chennai had 18 points. A win here would have boosted their chances of sealing a Qualifier 1 berth, but bottom-placed team Hyderabad spoiled the party by pulling off a surprising 4-run victory.
Punt does not pay off for Hyderabad
Batting has been Hyderabad’s biggest concern in this season of the Indian T20 League. Now that they are not in the playoffs race anymore and the pressure is off their shoulders, the Hyderabad management tried to play a punt in this match.
Alongside Jason Roy, they sent all-rounder Abhishek Sharma to open the innings, hoping that he will play a pinch-hitting role, like what Sunil Narine used to do for Kolkata. The move, however, did not prove to be a successful one.
Sharma did start off well. In the second over, the youngster smacked a four and a six off George Garton’s bowling. But in the same over, Garton got his revenge as he got Bangalore their first breakthrough of the match.
Williamson-Roy sets up a good partnership for Hyderabad
In the current Hyderabad lineup, Kane Williamson and Jason Roy are the two most experienced batters. With Sharma getting out in the second over, Hyderabad needed their two prime batters to hold the fort, and that they did.
Mohammed Siraj and Garton Garton were taken to the cleaners, as from a difficult position, Hyderabad found themselves at 50/1 at the end of six overs. The run rate dropped a bit after the powerplay, but Williamson and Roy ensured that Hyderabad did not lose any more wickets in the first ten overs. Hyderabad were 76/1 at the end of 10 overs.
Captain falls, and his team collapses again
It has been the story of Hyderabad in this season, that their batting order has collapsed once their big guns depart. The same happened in this match as well. Williamson was dismissed in the 12th over by Harshal Patel. Priyam Garg played a cameo of 15 runs, but his innings came to an end soon.
Aussie all-rounder Daniel Christian got him out in the 15th over, and in the same over, he handed Hyderabad a killer blow by sending Jason Roy back to the pavilion. The procession continued, as in the next over, Yuzvendra Chahal got the better of Abdul Samad.
A couple of overs later, Harshal Patel got his second wicket by dismissing Wriddhiman Saha. From being 105/2 and aiming to cross the 160-run mark easily, Hyderabad found themselves struggling at 124/6, scampering to cross the 140-run mark. In the last two overs, Hyderabad could only score 11 runs, bringing their total score to 141.
Bangalore falters at the start
With the target being a timid one, all Bangalore needed was a steady start. The asking rate would not have been too big an issue, had they kept wickets in that, but they failed to do that.
In the first over of the match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar trapped Virat Kohli leg before wicket. Despite the plan not paying off in the previous match, Bangalore persisted with Daniel Christian in number three in this match as well.
However, the plan backfired in this match as well, as Siddarth Kaul dismissed the veteran in the fourth over of the match. Kona Srikar Bharat, who has been impressive ever since he has been given a chance by the Bangalore management, also had a poor match here. He was dismissed for 12 runs in the 7th over of the match. At the end of 7 overs, Bangalore found themselves at 38/3.
Glenn Maxwell puts Bangalore in the driver’s seat
When Bangalore lost their third wicket, Hyderabad had the match under their control. But out came Glenn Maxwell, who has been Bangalore’s saviour time and again in this season, and is also their highest run-getter.
Maxwell started dispatching the bad balls into the stands, while he also did well to take singles. Maintaining a good strike rate, Maxwell helped Bangalore to get to 92/3 at the end of 14 overs. Devdutt Padikkal also played a supporting role, but unlike Maxwell, his strike rate was not up to the mark.
Fielding brilliance brings Hyderabad back in the game
Not many would argue that had Maxwell been at the crease till the end, Hyderabad would not have stood a chance of getting a victory. But in the first ball of the 15th over, a brilliant bit of fielding by Kane Williamson sent him back to the pavilion.
Having played a slow knock till now, it was then time for Devdutt Padikkal to get Bangalore over the line, which he could not. In the 17th over, he was dismissed by Rashid Khan, which then brought Hyderabad back in the driver’s seat.
Shahbaz Ahmed’s cameo is not enough for Bangalore
All-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed scored 11 runs in the 18th over of the match. His two sixes brought the equation to 18 runs from 12 balls for Hyderabad. But the Bengal lad was dismissed by Jason Holder in the penultimate, where he conceded only 5 runs.
In the last over of the match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar executed his plans perfectly. The only delivery which was in the slot was sent to the heavens by AB de Villiers, but barring that, he conceded just two singles, which meant that Hyderabad secured a 4-run win.
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