New Delhi: Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis’s breathtaking partnership of 172 clinched a dominating win and two crucial points for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after a remarkable chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday.
The Virat Kohli chase masterclass and his scintillating century overshadowed Heinrich Klaasen’s ton in a gripping run-fest.
Chasing 187 to win, RCB got off to a flying start courtesy of in-form openers – Virat Kohli and Captain Faf du Plessis. Opener Virat Kohli hit from the word go and was off the mark with two timely strokes before Faf du Plessis jumped on the bandwagon.
The fifty partnership was up yet again in the tournament for RCB’s opening duo and the visitors moved to 64/0 after 6 overs. SRH nearly put an end to the opening partnership after Mayank Dagar took a sensational catch however on a delivery that unfortunately turned out to be a no-ball, adding to SRH’s worries.
The duo looked unstoppable with the bat as both du Plessis and Kohli reached their respective half-centuries and RCB were cruising at 108/0 with 8 overs to go.
Virat Kohli was at his sublime best and left everyone in awe as the 150-run partnership was up for the opening wicket.
The equation was down to 23 of 18 for the visitors as SRH kept searching for the opening wicket. Virat Kohli smashed a maximum off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bowling to reach his first century of the season in style.
SRH bounced back to dismiss both the RCB openers in quick succession but it was too late for the home side as RCB chased down the target with four balls to spare.
Earlier, RCB got off to a flying start as Michael Bracewell gave SRH double blows in the fourth over of the innings. Bracewell first removed Abhishek Sharma for 11 and then Rahul Tripathi for 15. The right-handed batter Heinrich Klaasen then came out to bat and slammed Shahbaz Ahmed for three boundaries gathering 16 runs in the 6th over.
The duo of Aiden Markram and Klaasen rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the RCB bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer.
Klaasen brought up his fifty in 24 balls. After playing a helping knock of 18 runs SRH captain Markram was dismissed by Shahbaz Ahmed in the 13th over. Harry Brook then came out to bat.
Brook then opened his hands and slammed boundaries at regular intervals with well-set batter Klaasen. The duo slammed Shahbaz Ahmed for two maximums and one four gathering 19 runs.
With an exceptional six off Harshal Patel’s ball in the 19th over, Klaasen brought up his maiden IPL century in 49 balls. However, centurion Klaasen’s innings of 104 runs came to an end in the same over.
The right-handed batter Glenn Phillips then came out to bat. In the last over SRH batters could only gather 4 runs to guide their team’s total to 186/5 in 20 overs.
Brief score: Royal Challengers Bangalore 187/2 (Virat Kohli 100(63), Faf du Plessis 71(47) and T Natarajan 1/34) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad and Sunrisers Hyderabad 186/5 (Heinrich Klaasen 104, Harry Brook 27*; Michael Bracewell 2-13) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore.
(With ANI Inputs)