Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) made a mess of their opportunity to finish in the top two on the points table after losing to bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by four runs in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Bangalore can still make it, provided they beat Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings beat Chennai Super Kings in their respective last group matches, but the margins of both matches need to be huge.
RCB were chasing a modest 142, and needed just 18 from the last two overs. But they could score on 13 against Jason Holder and Bhuvneshwar Kumar despite the presence of A.B. de Villiers at the crease.
They did not have the greatest of starts, losing Virat Kohli in the first over to Bhuvneshwar. The decision to promote Dan Christian to No. 3 failed yet again, when he was deceived by a slower delivery by Siddarth Kaul. At 18/2, K.S. Bharat joined Devdutt Padikkal and hit two handsome shots for six and four to take RCB to 37/2 in the Powerplay overs.
Young pace sensation Umran Malik broke that stand in the seventh over, dismissing Bharat for 12 as RCB slipped to 38/3. In the ninth over, Malik bowled crossed the 150-kph barrier with three consecutive balls.
But Padikkal (41) and Glenn Maxwell (40) not only steadied the ship, they scored bulk of the runs. However, once they got out, the innings lost momentum.
Holder bowled a superb 19th over, giving away just five runs for one wicket. In the final over, de Villiers smashed a six off the fourth ball, bringing the equation to six from two. However, Bhuvneshwar came back brilliantly, and de Villiers hit the next ball to cover, and denied the single. With six needed off the last ball, de Villiers got a full toss but could not capitalise on it, as he targeted one of the longer boundaries.
Earlier, put into bat, SRH opener Jason Roy (44) shared a 58-ball stand of 70 with Kane Williamson (31) to set the platform for a power-packed finish. However, the pendulum swung quickly as Hyderabad lost three wickets for two runs in seven balls to eventually ended up with a below-par total.
For RCB, Harshal Patel (3-33) and Christian (2-14) did most damage, while their spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal (1-27) and Shahbaz Ahmed (0-21) kept things in check. But George Garton conceded 29 runs in two overs for his one wicket.
Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 141/7 in 20 overs (Roy 44; Harshal 3-33) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 137/6 in 20 overs (Padikkal 41; Malik 1/20) by 4 runs. Player of the Match: Kane Williamson