IPL SRL | RCB vs SRH Evaluation Chart - Chahal hattrick puts Williamson’s effort in vain

BySritama Panda, SportsCafe Editor

06/20/2020

It was a game that saw two incredible third-wicket partnerships from both sides but in the end, it was the Kohli-ABD duo that overpowered Williamson and Pandey’s efforts. Chahal’s timely hattrick took the game away from SRH as the Bangalore side sealed the game in the final over by a 19-run margin.

Match Review

Royal Challengers Bangalore, after losing the toss, were asked to bat first and the SRH pacers’ performance showed exactly why in the initial overs. But soon, despite the early dismissal of both openers, there was a certain balance instilled. Once again, the skipper took charge of the batting and found help in AB de Villiers who put a strong third-wicket partnership that survived seven overs and those defined the innings. Following that, Kohli and Moeen Ali gave a treat to the fans by some power hitting in the death overs, taking the team to a fighting total of 175/3 at the end of 20 overs.

Chasing a challenging target of 176, Sunrisers Hyderabad had early hiccups handing the advantage over to RCB in the Powerplay. However, it was Kane Williamson’s valiant efforts, along with a significant stability that Pandey offered, that turned the one-sided affair back into a real contest until the fateful 16th over hattrick by Chahal. SRH, anyway, had to chase down another 65 runs in the final five overs and the three-wicket over damaged Hyderabad’s cause entirely. As SRH failed to recover, despite Williamson remaining unbeaten till the end, they lost the game by a margin of 19 runs.

You can check out the scorecard and Match Tracker here.

Turning Point

Had it not been for Chahal’s 16th over HATTRICK, Williamson might very well have successfully pulled off the chase. Together the Kiwi skipper and Pandey added 83 runs without losing a wicket in the middle overs, bringing SRH back into the competition. But even Williamson’s best efforts were rendered futile by Chahal’s timely hattrick.

Highs and Lows

Well, a game that saw a maiden over in the first innings, also had the pleasure of witnessing a hattrick in the second. But, according to me, the real high of this game was the way Williamson single-handedly carried the SRH batting in the middle-overs, taking them from an absolutely feeble position to a state where the team was back in the competition and fighting neck to neck against RCB.

It is such a shame that a resource like Moeen Ali gets underused time and again despite him proving himself with the ball. History knows it that the English all-rounder is more of an all-in or all-out kind of a player. On a day when he was in great touch with his batting, he conceded only five runs in the lone over that he was asked to bowl. However, he wasn’t given a second over yet again.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: - RCB (7/10) and SRH (4/10)

Apart from one loose over bowled by Khaleel Ahmed, Hyderabad’s pace attack showed no signs for worry in the Powerplay. Sandeep Sharma did concede 10 runs in the first over of his spell, but he made a good recovery as he dismissed Parthiv Patel in his second over. Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar Kumar did a good job in keeping the runs under check. After the first partnership was broken early, Aaron Finch and Virat Kohli’s budding partnership showed promise ahead of the middle overs. At the end of the Powerplay, RCB were on 42/1 with Finch on 20 off 15 and Kohli on 12 off 11.

At least fifty per cent of the pressure is off the opposing team when they are able to break the extremely potent opening partnership of Jonny Bairstow and David Warner. Luckily for Bangalore, with obvious credit to Umesh Yadav, they were able to remove the English batsman for just 8 runs. Not that his stay was striking in any sense. Both openers didn’t look at their best form and it helped release significant pressure off of the RCB bowlers. The departure of both Warner and Bairstow put the next batsmen in, Williamson and Pandey, immediately under pressure. At the end of the Powerplay, Hyderabad were struggling on 28/2 with a target of 176 to chase.

Middle overs:- RCB (7.5/10) and SRH (9/10)

With Virat Kohli already in good form, RCB had little to worry about and especially as the skipper started well after Patel’s departure. Even though his partnership with Finch barely survived a couple of overs following the Powerplay, what defined the middle overs of RCB’s innings today was Kohli’s partnership with fan’s favourite AB de Villiers. Credit where credit is due, Rashid Khan did a great job in checking the run rate and while Sanjay Yadav started his spell with a MAIDEN OVER it was soon turned around by the batting duo and they squeezed significant runs off the spinner. Overall, the batsmen had only a slight edge over the spinners as they were able to secure their wickets. At the end of 15 overs, RCB had reached a total of 116/2 with Kohli and de Villiers unbeaten.

Having found themselves in a shaky position, of 28/2, at the end of the Powerplay, it was then Williamson’s responsibility to take the team forward in the 176-run chase. As much as it might have seemed hard, Williamson’s spirit was enough to turn the fate around for Hyderabad. He did form a stable third-wicket partnership with Manish Pandey, but it was the Kiwi who did the most of the job and Pandey remained a calm support. Recovering slowly and steadily, Williamson whacked the spinners when the time came, taking SRH to a total of 111/2 at the end of 15 overs. Meanwhile, the bowlers weren’t able to bag a single wicket despite the early pressure exerted in the chase.

Death Bowling: - SRH (3/10) RCB (/10)

The fact that Bangalore had played rather safely in the middle overs paid off in the final five as some incredible power hitting was showcased by Kohli and Moeen Ali after de Villiers departure. Yes, the latter was dismissed early in the death overs but that did not hurt RCB’s cause as the tone was set by the third-wicket 58-run partnership. Interestingly, all five overs in the death overs went for 10 or more runs each with 15-run 19th over, bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, being the most expensive one. Only Rashid Khan enjoyed a wicket, the rest only went for big runs and failed to provide resistance to RCB’s attack. The batsmen added 59 runs in the last five overs.

With another 65 runs to chase down in just five overs, the pressure was back again on Hyderabad but with the kind of form Williamson was in it didn’t seem impossible. However, Yuzvendra Chahal’s re-entry, in the 16th over, poured water on the flame of RCB’s chase. Williamson looked on helplessly from the other end as Pandey, Shankar and Virat Singh fell on three consecutive deliveries. Chahal’s brilliant hattrick put the ball back in Bangalore’s court. Even though Williamson remained unbeaten at 78 off 51, SRH fell 20 runs short of the target despite having four wickets in hand.

Match Frenzy O Meter - Excellent

The 19-run margin of win might indicate that Bangalore had a clear edge over Hyderabad and they did but only till the Powerplay in the chase. The rest of the competition was a treat to watch especially with the way Williamson sailed the SRH ship alone. Chahal’s hattrick in the 16th over was another highlight of the game.