IShaan-e-Hyderabad: Ishan, Abhishek and Klaasen help SRH beat RCB by 55 runs

Sunrisers Hyderabad ended their IPL league stage with a 55-run win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. Despite strong batting displays from Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Heinrich Klaasen, SRH finished third on net run rate

Hyderabad: Former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad finished their league campaign with an impressive 55-run win against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru but ended up third in the IPL points table at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Friday night.

Chasing a daunting target of 256, RCB got off to a rollicking start thanks to southpaw Venkatesh Iyer (44, 19b, 4×4, 4×6) but lost two quick wickets in the powerplay. First, Iyer pulled pacer Eshan Malinga straight to a fielder in the fifth over. Then, Virat Kohli (15) drove at a wide delivery from pacer Sakib Hussain straight to cover, much to the delight of the bowler, as RCB slipped to 75/2 in six overs.

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Soon, Malinga struck again for his 19th wicket of the season as Devdutt Padikkal (21) whipped a leg-stump delivery into the hands of the deep mid-wicket fielder, making it 94/3 in 8.5 overs.

Then, the focus for RCB shifted to crossing the 166-run mark to seal a top-two spot or 178 to top the points table. SRH, meanwhile, needed a victory margin of more than 90 runs to finish at the top.

RCB captain Rajat Patidar (56, 39b, 6×4, 1×6) and Krunal Pandya (41 n.o., 31b, 5×4) played cautiously to achieve the target required for topping the points table. Gujarat Titans finished second and SRH third by virtue of net run rate.

Earlier, the brilliance of the in-form batting trio of Abhishek Sharma (56, 22b, 4×4, 5×6), Ishan Kishan (79, 46b, 8×4, 3×6) and Heinrich Klaasen (51, 24b, 2×4, 5×6) helped the home team pile up 255/4 in 20 overs.

That two of the best fast bowlers of the season, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood, went wicketless while conceding 106 runs between them in eight overs reflected the dominance of the SRH batting lineup. This was despite Bhuvneshwar and Rasikh Dar conceding just 17 runs in the last two overs. RCB also paid dearly for shoddy fielding and dropped catches.

With an eye on net run rate, captain Pat Cummins opted to bat first and watched openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head put on 45 runs in 24 balls before Head (26, 16b, 5×4), after striking three fours off pacer Rasikh Dar in his opening over, was yorked in the fourth over.

Abhishek enjoyed a slice of luck as he was dropped on 25 and 39 before his innings ended when Suyash Sharma, whom he had hit for two sixes earlier, induced a lofted stroke that was caught at long-off, making it 97/2 in 8.2 overs.

Soon, Heinrich Klaasen, SRH’s most dangerous and consistent batter, singled out Hazlewood for special treatment in the 13th over, smashing him for three sixes and a four as 27 runs came off the over.

Klaasen went on to complete his sixth half-century of the season before left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya dismissed him in the 17th over. He added 113 runs in 48 balls for the third wicket with Ishan Kishan.

In the final overs, Nitish Kumar Reddy struck some lusty blows (29 n.o., 12b, 1×4, 3×6).