IPL 2020 | SRH vs RCB: Williamson, Holder show Bangalore the exit door

Brief Scores: 

Royal Challengers Bangalore 131/7 in 20 overs (AB de Villiers 56, Aaron Finch 32; Jason Holder 3-25, T Natarajan 2-33) 

lost to 

Sunrisers Hyderabad 132/4 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 50*, Jason Holder 24*; Mohammed Siraj 2-28) by 6 wickets.

Sunrisers Hyderabad flexed their bowling muscles to tie down Royal Challengers Bangalore to a paltry 131/7 before Kane Williamson and Jason Holder held their nerves to get the job done, the top-order wobble notwithstanding. While RCB's trophy cabinet remains empty, Delhi Capitals will have to pull up their socks as SRH await in the second Qualifier on November 8 in Abu Dhabi. 

Siraj leaves Hyderabad in a spot of bother

The odds were heavily stacked against RCB in the uphill task of defence. Dew, an underwhelming attack and SRH's star-studded line-up to name a few. Although the element of chasing pressure in a knockout tie acted as an alibi. Boy, the warriors in red left no stone unturned in making the most of it. Shreevats Goswami was just a lamb to be slain and Mohammed Siraj wasted little time in doing so, floating a nice, juicy half-volley to elicit an edge for nought.

The firebrand quick yielded a tunnel of an opening in his second over inside the PowerPlay, cutting David Warner into half with an absolute peach. The on-field umpire declined the caught-behind appeal but RCB went upstairs. Deliberation ensued, with the glove and thigh pad perplexingly narrow to each other at the cherry whizzed past. They cherished the benefit of the doubt at last as an agitated Warner minced no words on his way to the pavilion.

Bangalore tighten the noose

Leggies Adam Zampa and Yuzvendra Chahal then entangled Manish Pandey and Priyam Garg in their web respectively to nudge RCB into the driving seat. With 64 needed off 48 balls, Kane Williamson switched his zen-mode on. He traded singles to lay the stones of the rebuild before kneeling down to hoist Washington Sundar over cow corner. That maximum was the first boundary after the field restrictions, a glowing testimonial of RCB's penny-pinching efforts led by Zampa, who bowed out with an exceptional display reading 4-0-12-1. 

Williamson-Holder as cool as a cucumber

The second of Williamson's jail-breaking sixes came off Chahal, lap swept flat and ferocious into the grass banks at deep mid-wicket. 28 were sought off 18 when the potential game-defining moment arrived. Navdeep Saini served a waist-length full-toss as Williamson flayed it nonchalantly only to locate Devdutt Padikkal, the token fielder at backward square, who couldn't execute the juggling heist on the fence to squander RCB's last-ditch attempt at resurrection.

Saini and Siraj conceding a four each in the 18th and 19th respectively dwarfed the equation to 9 off the ultimate. It was a moral victory for Saini as Williamson squeezed only a solitary run off the first ball to acquire his fifty which was a lesson in pacing an inning. Holder demolished the third past cover and then steered a tramline yorker via point to usher the SRH camp into a melee of fist-bumps and throat-ripping grunts of ecstasy. 

Protagonists cop a blow apiece

SRH must've cursed their luck as Wriddhiman Saha injured his groin in the lead up to the crunch game. Shreevats Goswami was plucked off the rack and thrown onto shoulders on a whim. The devil of niggles balanced the equation for good measure as RCB were bereft of Chris Morris' all-round pyrotechnics as Navdeep Saini filled in his boots. Aaron Finch, Adam Zampa and Moeen Ali received a call of duty with Shahbaz Ahmed, Isuru Udana and Josh Philippe cheering from the sidelines. 

Holder nabs the big fish

RCB's procrastination finally drew to a close as Virat Kohli resurged to his comfort zone, the opening slot, a pedestal from where he's poked fun at the record books. His arch-nemesis Sandeep Sharma had the first bite of the cherry, the gun-barrel straight channels meeting a positive stride and a waft or two. Ends changed, the onus now shifting from SRH's one no-fuss operator to another. Jason Holder, in peak bowling rhythm, generated some extra zip from the deck to strangle Kohli down the leg. Devdutt Padikkal followed suit, jabbing a short-arm pull straight to catching mid-wicket. Holder playing the wrecker-in-chief yet again. Underrated? You bet. 

RCB dig their own grave

They had to sustain a test of character with both their skipper and top-scorer of the season back in the hut. Spin twins Rashid Khan and Shahbaz Nadeem were no easy fodder, slipping in a dry spell of overs to intensify the chokehold. Craving to break the shackles, Finch sliced Nadeem to sweeper cover for almost a run-a-ball 32. Moeen Ali indulged in some schoolboy stuff, running himself out off a free hit in the wild goose chase of a single. Basic cricketing sense died a slow death. 

Messiah ABD treads a vigilant path 

Albeit the glue that was AB de Villiers prevented RCB from falling apart to shreds. He put his nose to the grindstone, brooming a couple of sweeps versus Rashid as Thangarasu Natarajan stood victim to his trademark inside-out scorcher. Shivam Dubey turned the bat face too early to chip a dolly to mid-off as Holder pocketed his third scalp of the night. Natarajan dashed RCB's hopes of a final flourish in a mightily impressive 18th over, taking Washington Sundar and kingpin de Villiers out of the equation, the latter cleaned up by a picture-perfect yorker for 56. The eventual scoreline, the sorry figure of 131 had defeat written all over it. 

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