Bhuvneshwar Kumar defended 11 runs off the final over to guide Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to yet another impressive victory. The Kane Williamson-led side beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by runs to register their eighth win of the season.
Chasing a modest 147, the Royal Challengers were off to a quick but shaky start. Parthiv Patel, fresh off his fifty in the last game, raced away to 20 off just 12 balls before being sent packing by Shakib Al Hasan. However, Manan Vohra and Virat Kohli did not let the hosts capitalise on the early breakthrough. The duo took the score to 55 for 1 at the end of the powerplay. With the match fast drifting away from their clutches, Sandeep Sharma gave them some hope by dismissing Vohra. Shakib then dismissed Kohli soon to reduce the visitors to 74 for 3. 6 runs later, Rashid Khan accounted for AB de Villiers to put the hosts well on top.
The downward slide continued as Moeen Ali failed too, leaving his side reeling at 84 for 5. Colin de Grandhomme and Mandeep Singh then stopped the rot, taking the score past the 100-run mark. The duo went on to stay till the end but could not score the required 12 runs in the last over as the visitors were restricted to 141 for 6.
Earlier in the game, Kane Williamson waged a lone battle to power his side to a respectable total. The Sunrisers skipper scored his fifth fifty of the season to help the hosts post 146. Apart from Williamson, only Shakib Al Hasan (35) and Yusuf Pathan (12) managed to cross the double-digit mark.
Asked to bat first, the Sunrisers were off to a shaky start and were reeling at 48 for 3 before Williamson and Shakib steadied the ship. The duo took the score past the 100-run mark and went on to add 64 runs for the fourth wicket. Umesh Yadav broke the stand by accounting for Williamson who scored 56. Williamson’s departure opened the floodgates as the hosts kept on losing wickets at regular intervals before being all out for 146 on the last ball of the innings.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:
Fabulous, fabulous last over from Bhuvi. Top class. Shows why he is special
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 7, 2018
That was a master class in death bowling by Bhuvi ??????
— Chris Morris (@Tipo_Morris) May 7, 2018
Bhuvneshwar Kumar – take a bow!!! You are truly special #SRHvRCB
— Karandeep Singh (@2karan) May 7, 2018
After ABD, CDG was born to do well for RCB. Anything that can be abbreviated to a 3 letter chant becomes the toast of Bengaluru. #IPL
— cricBC (@cricBC) May 7, 2018
Colin taking RCB to Grandhomme.#SRHvRCB
— Sunil The Cricketer (@1sInto2s) May 7, 2018
Purple cap is passe. All SRH bowlers should be allowed to take the field wearing a cape. #IPL
— cricBC (@cricBC) May 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/sagarcasm/status/993543586028310528
Me : 11 saal se ye team tumhe lagatar jaleel karwa rahi hai fir bhi tu inhe support kyun karta hai ?
RCB fan : #RCB #EeSaalaCupNamde pic.twitter.com/fehb47eU61
— Right Arm Over (@RightArmOver_) May 5, 2018
Dear Afghanistan take Yuzvinder n Kuldeep n Give us Rashid Khan….
What a player, undoubtedly the best leg spinner in contemporary cricket!#SRHvRCB
— Archit Sood (@Archit_0106) May 7, 2018
The difference between famed batting lineup of RCB and famed bowling lineup of SRH is, the latter always lives up to its reputation. #SRHvRCB
— नम्रता (@_Namrataa) May 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/cricdrugs/status/993543303592366082
https://twitter.com/cricc_hamp/status/993543368503246848
Millions of RCB fans almost had a soiled-pants moment. Sigh of relief as it was Manan Vohra who departs. #IPL
— cricBC (@cricBC) May 7, 2018
Virat is a Punjabi who is from Delhi and playing for Bangalore and neither Punjab have won nor Delhi and Bangalore have won a single IPL Title #SRHvRCB
— Mitul (@R3Mitul) May 7, 2018
Kohli seems intent on single handedly eclipse Sunrisers' party tonight. #IPL
— cricBC (@cricBC) May 7, 2018
Kohli-Manan #SRHvRCB pic.twitter.com/gvP7vkGxlY
— . (@spidernoir99) May 7, 2018
Worst part is that Kaul doesn’t even know if he dropped Kohli or Vohra#SRHvRCB
— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) May 7, 2018
Parthiv is one of the most improved batsmen in the domestic circuit.
— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) May 7, 2018
Technically correct SRH logo. #IPL pic.twitter.com/KsJ5PFfBal
— cricBC (@cricBC) May 7, 2018
Terrific effort by RCB bowlers. Hyderabad have defended modest totals superbly this season but 146 looks about 20 runs short to me
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 7, 2018
It’s time for Manish Pandey to go to Himalayas and get some rest & peace of mind. #SRHvRCB
— Mon (@4sacinom) May 7, 2018
#SRHvRCB pic.twitter.com/oYyDTX1Dyf
— Arafahth (@arafahth) May 7, 2018
Siraj hitting those stumps is insaaannee! What wicket to wicket bowling, quite literally! #SRHvRCB
— Anuradha Kumar (@KAnuradha89) May 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/Sajjanlaunda/status/993522765603864576
https://twitter.com/cricdrugs/status/993522831408365568
Virat Kohli poses with IPL 2018 trophy. #SRHvRCB pic.twitter.com/3MtsPo3lKC
— Swapnil (@swapnil_bs) May 7, 2018
Spectators in uppal stadium when a player hits boundary #SRHvRCB pic.twitter.com/aAvQGNbSeU
— pinky (@Duchess_Of_Swag) May 7, 2018
how kholi select his playing 11 is more mysterious than Bermuda triangle #SRHvRCB
— MeanHarvardProfessor (@akash_garg90) May 7, 2018
Living up to his 11cr price tag….
Expectation : KL Rahul ?
Reality : Manish Pandey ?#SRHvRCB#RCBvSRH
— Partha Mukherjee (@viratian_partha) May 7, 2018
Kane Williamson never fails to impress. He’s pulled his team out of tricky situations & his captaincy skills are brilliant. ?? #SRHvRCB @SunRisers
— Zubeda Ismail (@zubedaismail) May 7, 2018
Started slowly keeping in mind the risk. He’s build on that start with some lovely shots. Kane Williamson has shown the value of patience even in a T20 game. Just like Mutual Funds…have patience. #FundaSahiHai @MFSahiHai #SRHvRCB #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) May 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/Cricketician_/status/993505864093978624
Kane Williamson in such great batting form in #IPL2018 and to think he may not have played for #SRH this season, if David Warner had been available.#SRHvRCB#IPL
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) May 7, 2018
Finally Chahal bowls a no ball. Great trier.#SRHvRCB
— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) May 7, 2018
My team for 2051 world cup
Yet to born
Yet to born
Yet to born (c)
MS Dhoni (wk)
Yet to born
Yet to born
Yet to born
Yet to born
Yet to born
Yet to born
Yet to born#IPL2018#SRHvRCB— Naresh (@nareshns33) May 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/iamVanshsoni/status/993522936781852672
Saha is more consistent than Williamson ??
Manish Pandey is a close second ?#SRHvRCB #IPL11— Kuladeep Marupalli (@M_Kuladeep) May 7, 2018
Fake aggression from RCB. Should have restricted to way less than this. Can’t be termed as a perfect bowling performance even if they manage to get them all out. #SRHVRCB
— Sharvil Majmudar (@imsmajmudar) May 7, 2018
Ahh that's embarrassing. @Wriddhipops digest it soon or you cant sleep tonight#SRHvRCB #SRHvsRCB
— S A N T H O S H ❄️ (@SanthoshDasika) May 7, 2018
#SRHvRCB
People praising RCB's bowling have gone mad. It's SRH's batting that sucks. ANYBODY can pick wickets against SRH. So calm down ffs?— Zahra (@paavambitch) May 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/abis3067/status/993522835187535872
Is this the real #RCB team? Way too cool bowling tonight! #SRHvRCB
— Megha (@WanderlustGirl_) May 7, 2018