RCB VS SRH T20S

Right then, what a start we have had to the new week in the 2024 Indian T20 League and this game has set up the rest of the week brilliantly. Next up, table-toppers Rajasthan travel to the eastern part of India to face second-place Kolkata at the Eden Gardens in what is expected to be a huge clash. That game will be played on Tuesday, 16 April in Kolkata and will begin at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT). However, you can join us a lot sooner for the build-up. Till then, take care and goodbye!

Travis Head is the Player of the Match for his blistering ton. Head says that a nice shower and some food after the first innings and says that they were able to drag things back after the Powerplay but Dinesh Karthik played a brilliant innings at the end. Mentions that the pitch played much better than expected and the power they have in the batting lineup, they could just keep going. On batting alongside, Abhishek Sharma, he says that they complement each other well and the way he takes on the spinners early on is brilliant. Ends by saying that the way he moved and struck the ball in this game was pretty good.

Pat Cummins, the captain of Hyderabad jokingly says that he wishes he was a batter. A wonderful game of cricket and says that the same happened against Mumbai and he thought it wouldn't happen again but he was proven wrong. Says that when you bowl an over of seven or eight runs, you can have a big impact on the game. Also states that at Chinnaswamy, even if it looks dry, it has given some wonderful surfaces to bat on. Adds that the batters are enjoying every bit and playing with all the freedom keeping smiles on their faces. Ends up by saying he is delighted as they have four wins now.

The Presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, Faf du Plessis won the toss and finally got his wish to chase but the decision to bowl first quickly turned into a nightmare as the Hyderabad openers but on a 100-plus stand in just over 7 overs before Abhishek Sharma finally got out. However, it was Travis Head who was just in a punishing mood and went on to score the fourth-fastest century in the Indian T20 League off just 39 balls. The likes of Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram did a fine job with the former notching up another quickfire fifty after which Abdul Samad laid the finishing touches with a 10-ball-37 and took his team to 287 big runs. On the bowling front, there wasn't much to talk about but Will Jacks did bowl well in the Powerplay and Lockie Ferguson got a couple of wickets but was highly expensive like the rest of the bowlers. In reply, Bengaluru fought well but fell short by 25 runs and surprisingly not even a single bowler across both sides went for less than 10 runs an over, astonishing stat given the fact that 13 bowlers bowled in the game.

Heinrich Klaasen, one of the stars of Hyderabad's batting is in for a chat. Klaasen says that it was unbelievable stuff from Travis Head and for him to come in, he had some time and played sensibly at the other end and got a few bad deliveries that got him going. Adds that he isn't training a lot and just had one session in the few days and is more focused on standing still and keeping things simple and is happy that it is coming off. Mentions that they were a bit lucky a few games ago and knew that the ball was going to fly and the opposition too batted really well.

Faf du Plessis, the captain of Bengaluru says that the pitch was a proper T20 track and credits the batters to take it close. On being asked about the bowling, he says it is tough and they have tried a few things but the plans haven't been working clearly. He says that the game of cricket is tough when you have backs against the wall but there's no way to hide at all. Adds that as a batting lineup, they have been doing pretty well and just keeping up with the way the game has evolved with the scores teams are putting up. It feels like the mind's gonna explode after back-to-back defeats and says it's a tough hill to climb ahead and ends up by saying that they will comeback with the same intensity in the next game.

Bengaluru suffer their sixth loss in seven games and remain rooted at the bottom of the table but this just goes to show how underwhelming they have been with the ball. The batters gave it their all but 288 to get in 120 legal deliveries is almost unthinkable. Both Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis started aggressively and got a plethora of boundaries away but Kohli got out in the thirties after which Faf went on a rampage but the next three batters that came in couldn't even get into double figures. Faf eventually got out on 62 after which Dinesh Karthik took matters into his hands and just about kept Bengaluru with a 1% chance of a win. He made a sensational 83 off 35 balls but got out in the 19th over and even Anuj Rawat's little cameo in the final over wasn't nearly enough to get them that crucial win.

Defending a massive total of 287 runs, Hyderabad couldn't pick up a wicket in the Powerplay and were a bit unlucky with the edges and ended up conceding 79 runs. It was then Mayank Markande who knocked over Virat Kohli right after the Powerplay and then skipper Pat Cummins got a couple of quick wickets to hand Hyderabad the advantage. With 5 wickets already in the bag, the visitors couldn't capitalize and seemed nervous in the death overs. Cummins did provide one more breakthrough but they kept conceding boundaries at an alarming rate and it was T Natarajan who finally got DK in the penultimate over that sealed the game. Overall, not the best bowling performance but there were some positives, especially the way Cummins bowled.

My, my! That is some of the best if not the very best hitting you will see overall in a T20 game and close to 550 runs were scored in the match, 549 to be exact but ultimately, Hyderabad just had too many on the board. Also, a lot of records tumbled as this has become officially the highest-scoring T20 game ever, a total of 79 boundaries hit (43 fours and 36 sixes) which just seems absurd to even hear about, and also the most number of 50-plus stands in a T20 game (7). The crowd inside the stadium did get their money's worth but the home team lost which was a big bummer for them.

FOUR! 549 runs in a T20 game! A true run-fest here at Chinnaswamy and it's the team in orange that ends up on the winning side, well, by a margin of 25 runs. A low full toss on the stumps by Bhuvi, Rawat premeditates and he moves across to the offside before scooping it over short fine leg for a boundary. Bengaluru lose their sixth game now and they are in deep trouble in their journey ahead in this competition.

FOUR! Nicely played! Bowls a knuckle ball, and offers some width outside off on a fuller length, Anuj Rawat leans onto the ball and creams it uppishly over covers for a boundary.

Yorker on the stumps and this is played to mid on for a single.

Short in length outside off, Anuj Rawat cuts it past backward point for one.

FOUR! Not where he intended but gets a boundary! Full in length around off, Anuj Rawat tries to loft it over mid-wicket but he is a bit early on the shot and it takes off from the splice of his willow and flies over point for a boundary.

FOUR! Innovative and gets the result. Way too full outside off, Anuj Rawat creatively adjusts the shot by opening the face of the bat and helps it to go through short third for four more.

A yorker, Vijaykumar Vyshak digs it to the off side.