Royal Challengers Bangalore lost their fifth consecutive game when they went down to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator of IPL 2020. RCB, who had a great start to the season, stumbled at the halfway stage of the league phase and were unable to recuperate, with both their batting and their bowling showing inconsistency. SRH, on the other hand, registered their fourth win in a row and stay alive in the competition.
Here are the talking points from the game.
Virat Kohli opens the innings for the first time in IPL 2020
Kohli has opened the innings in the IPL on 61 occasions, with five hundreds and 15 fifties at the top of the order. He strikes at 140.17 while batting in the top two – his highest at any position where he has batted at least 15 times. It was no surprise, then, that the RCB skipper walked out to open alongside Devdutt Padikkal in the do-or-die game against SRH. With regular opener Aaron Finch not in the best of forms this season – the Aussie has amassed just 268 runs from 12 games this year at a dismal strike rate of just 111.20, Kohli took it upon himself to lead the run chase in a crucial game. However, he was unable to leave a mark as he was Jason Holder’s first victim.
Despite Kohli scoring 466 runs this season, his batting strike rate was heavily criticized. He ended with a SR of 121.35 – his lowest since 2011.
Warner caught in the midst of controversy
David Warner was sent back after Mohammad Siraj cramped the SRH skipper for room with an angled delivery. The ball rushed past the Australian’s right glove to the keeper but the umpires did not adjudge it out as the on-field umpire S Ravi thought that the ball had nicked his trousers or his jersey along the way. Kohli, however, took the DRS and the Ultra Edge did indicate a spike as the ball was passing the gloves and the trousers. Replays, however, were not conclusive with the experts too opining that it was unclear if the spike was due to the ball touching the glove or any other apparel. The benefit of the doubt did not go to the batsman as it should have, and TV umpire Virender Sharma ruled Warner out, rather controversially.
Jason Holder the true MVP
West Indian Jason Holder has added tremendous balance to the SRH side, and has turned around the team’s fortunes. The player has picked up 13 wickets in just 6 games, including two 3-wicket hauls. An injury replacement, Holder has lent experience to a bowling attack that was without Bhuvneshwar Kumar and has also added depth to the batting order that waned after the top four. Holder went on to pick 3 for 35 against RCB and then played a crucial hand of 24 in 20 balls after SRH had collapsed to 67 for 4 in 11.5 overs, chasing 132. His presence has allowed Warner to field an extra batter in Kane Williamson, who scored a fine 50 off 44 balls against RCB, and has been the go-to player for SRH in the last few games.