In the SRH VS RCB game, SRH suffered a 6-run defeat thanks to RCB spinner Shahbaz Ahmed’s 3-wicket haul that saved the team from a losing game and helped it reach the top of the tournament table. SRH couldn’t achieve a moderate total of 150 runs as Shahbaz Ahmed scalped 3 wickets in the 17th over of the game and turned things around.

RCB Inning Highlight

Warner Wins Toss, Puts RCB to bat first

Winning the toss, Warner put RCB to bat as suggested by cricket pundits who assessed the Chennai pitch. The move worked in the favour of SRH as except for Maxwell, who scored a hefty 59 off 41, no batsman could contribute to RCB’s score. Devdutt and RCB skipper Kohli opened the batting. Padikkal opened his arms and played a couple of boundaries before his vigil was cut short. Trying to play Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a maximum, Padikkal (11) misjudged the speed of the bowl and gave a simple catch to Nadeem at midwicket.

Ahmed hits 6-off Nadeem, Nadeem sends Ahmed and has final laugh

Due to the early wicket, RCB’s inning found itself losing its momentum despite the efforts of Kohli trying to lose against Natarajan, Holder and Kumar. Shahbaz Ahmed came at number 3 and tried to get a go from the start as he hit Nadeem for a maximum. However, it was Nadeem who had the final laugh as he ended up sending Ahmed (14) to the dressing room.

Kohli fails at 30s again, de Villiers fails too

Skipper Kohli (33) again couldn’t take his inning to a big score as he tried hitting Holder but top-edged the ball and gave the catch to Vijay Shankar. AB de Villiers who was the star in the last match was sent back for just 1 run as he hit Rashid Khan and sent the ball to an anticipating Warner. All-rounder Washington Sundar, Dan Christian came and went as a wind, leaving RCB reeling at 110 for 6 by the end of the 17th over.

Maxwell plays a helpful knock

Thankfully for SRH, Maxwell (59) was still intact, having played some exceptional shots against spinners and pacers alike. In the 11th over he hit Nadeem for two maximums. Maxwell tried his best to put his pedal on the innings at multiple occasions, but the collapse on the other end just didn’t help. The aggressive batsman from Australia hit a huge six in the last over and helped RCB finish at a somewhat respectable score of 149/8.

SRH Inning Highlight

Siraj sends Saha packing, Warner takes revenge

Chasing an elementary target of 149, SRH found itself exploiting the slow pace of the Chennai pitch. Mohammed Siraj scalped the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha in the 3rd over when Saha gave an easy catch to Maxwell. However, SRH tried stabilizing itself during the 4th over thanks to David Warner going after Jamieson and scoring 17-runs off him.

Siraj, who was looking lethal in the first two overs, taking a wicket and barely giving runs, was given another over. However, the move backfired as David Warner who had earlier slammed Jamieson, went after Siraj and hit him for multiple fours. By the end of the first powerplay, SRH looked comfortable at 50/1.

Warner-out, collapse-in

Till the 11th over Pandey and Warner made light of the RCB bowlers and hit a couple of maximums and boundaries and had an 83-run second wicket partnership. However, as it goes with IPL, it just took one wicket for the entire building to collapse. It was Warner’s wicket that changed things. Warner tried hitting Jamieson for another maximum but ended up depositing the ball into Daniel Christian’s end.

KKR vs MI Flashbacks

What followed reminded the IPL fans of the KKR vs MI match where KKR ended up shooting itself in the foot and lost a winning game. In the 17th over, Shahbaz Ahmed scalped 3 wickets for RCB and triggered a brutal collapse. Bairstow tried to sweep Ahmed off but found de Villers reliable gloves catching him out. Manish Pandey was the next one to go as he gave a simple catch to Harshal Patel. Abdul Samad was the last one to go, caught and bowled, and leave his team whimpering at 116/5.

Also read: IPL 2021 KKR VS MI: MI snatches a 10-run victory from the jaws of KKR

Chase fizzles out

Sunrisers’ collapse continued as Vijay Shankar tried to take on Harshal Patel but found skipper Kohli on the mid-wicket. With 27 runs needed in 12 deliveries, Rashid Khan hit Siraj off for a six, however, he didn’t get support from the other end as Holder was caught by Christian on long-on. Rashid was finally sent packing as he tried running a non-existent run and was run out. The chase ended at SRH finishing for 143/9, losing by just 6 runs.