SRH locked horns with RCB in their campaign opener at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on September 21. The fans had expected a thrilling game between two star-studded sides. But, it ended up being a one-sided affair. Meanwhile, it turned out to be a memorable match for debutant Devdutt Padikkal, who scored a brilliant fifty for RCB and broke several IPL records in his very first appearances in this T20 tournament.
SRH won the toss and invited RCB to bat first in the match. However, Warner’s decision to bowl first went against the side. Devdutt Padikkal and Aaron Finch stiched an amazing partnership of 90 runs in 10.5 overs. SRH bowlers struggled to get their very first wicket for the game. At last, Vijay Shankar helped SRH in getting a breakthrough and he bowled debutant at a team score of 90 runs.
At number 3, Virat Kohli came out to bat, who failed to click a good knock with the bat. He scored only 14 runs before he was dismissed by T. Natarajan. Later on, Mr. 360 degree came out and took charge against SRH bowlers from the very first ball of his game. He played a swashbuckling knock of 51 runs off 30 balls that took RCB to a respectable total of 163 runs in stipulated 20 overs.
Chahal saves RCB from an opening match defeat against SRH
The highlight of RCB’s batting was Devdutt Padikkal, who became the 2nd player to smack half-century in a debut game. Moreover, he is now the 2nd youngest player to score fifty in IPL at the age of 20 years and 76 days. Adding to that he becomes the first player to record a half-century in debut match of first-class, List A, T20, and IPL
Coming onto the chase, SRH got off to a horrific start. Their skipper and dashing opener David Warner got run-out in the 2nd over of the innings. And, Manish Pandey stitched a magnificent partnership with Jonny Bairstow of 71 runs for the 2nd wicket. It looked like they will easily win the game for SRH. But that was not the case.
Yuzvendra Chahal turned the game from head to toe by dismissing Manish Pandey, Jonny Bairstow, and Priyam Garg in his 4 over spell. The Indian leg-spinner was getting turn from the wicket and he exploited the opponent brilliantly.
Navdeep Saini and Shivam Dube also played a vital role with the ball. They both shared a total of four wickets in between each other. SRH never looked near the chase and Sandeep Sharma puts the final nail in Sunrisers Hyderabad coffin and he dismissed Mitchell Marsh. SRH got dismissed in 19.4 overs at a score of 153 runs. This forced David Warner and Co. to suffer a defeat by a margin of 10 runs. Chahal was awarded Man of The Match for his convincing show with the ball and registering bowling figures of 3 for 18.
