Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen shines in the high scoring showdown between Sunrisers Hyderabad and RCB at Chinnaswamy.
On a night that yielded the highest IPL total and match aggregate in all T20 cricket, Sunrisers defeated RCB.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 262 for 7 (Karthik 83, du Plessis 62, Cummins 3-43) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 287 for 3 (Head 102, Klaasen 67, Ferguson 2-52) by a margin of 25 runs.
Sunrisers Hyderabad broke their own record earlier in the season to score the greatest IPL total of 287 for 3, demonstrating just how brutal modern T20 batting can seem.
Prior to the T20 World Cup, Travis Head, who has helped Australia win the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup final in the past year, issued another cautionary note to his rivals. On March 27, he had hit 62 off 24 balls for Sunrisers as they made 277 for 3, but against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he smashed a career-high 102 off 41.
The hits were tremendous and continuous. Out of a Sunrisers total of 22, Head smashed eight sixes and Heinrich Klaasen hit seven in a 31-ball 67, setting another IPL record. On a fantastic day for hitters, the RCB did their part as well, smashing 16 hits over the boundaries of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in an outstanding attempt to limit the damage to their net run rate. With Dinesh Karthik leading the way with 83 from 35 balls, they ended on 262 for 7.
The highest match total in T20 cricket history was 549 runs.
Head And Klaasen Breaks RCB’s Hearts
There was not a single frontline spinner for RCB before the game. However, they started with the off-spin of batting all-rounder Will Jacks, as the Sunrisers opened with two left-handers, Head and Abhishek Sharma. In the opening over, he found turn and gave up just seven runs. He went for just four in his second over, which was even better.
Nevertheless, the Sunrisers scored 76 runs during the powerplay, which was their third score of more than 70 runs in that part of the game this season. Head had already reached his half-century off 20 balls by that point. Head smashed four sixes in the fifth and sixth overs, dismissing RCB rookie Lockie Ferguson for eighteen and Yash Dayal for twenty.
Head reached the century in the twelfth over, and his second fifty came up even faster, needing only 19 balls. Halfway through the thirteenth over, Ferguson had Head ballooning a catch to mid-off; but by then, Klaasen had arrived, and SRH already had 165 on the board. That was enough to provide an idea of what more was to come on a level field with modest bounds.
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After the openers thrashed 108 in 8.1 overs, Klaasen was promoted to No. 3 and continued the Sunrisers’ celebration. After managing just three runs from his opening five deliveries, he quickly found his six-hitting rhythm, which has elevated him to the status of one of the most potent T20 batters in the world. Just before Head was removed, he hit Dayal and Ferguson for sixes over midwicket, and that wicket did little to slow down Klaasen’s aggression.
After Head was dismissed, Aiden Markram, another right-hander, came to the crease. In the 14th over, RCB introduced Mahipal Lomror, a left-arm spinner. There was no joy in the match as Klaasen hauled him for two sixes.
With three overs remaining and Sunrisers on 231, Klaasen smashed three more sixes, including a 106-meter straight hit off Ferguson that flew over the roof.
There was just one thing left to ask: could they surpass their own record total of 277? With their magnificent cameos, Abdul Samad and Markram dispelled any misgivings, as the final two overs yielded 46 runs.
Karthik Gave RCB Some Hope
Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis counterattacked their way to 79 in the powerplay, three more than Sunrisers had achieved at that point. There was only one way for RCB to bat in their comeback. Only in that phase did RCB’s opening duo smash 11 fours and 4 sixes. However, RCB was still behind the asking rate, which had increased to about 15.
The Effect of Sunrisers Sub Following the powerplay, Mayank Markande, who had replaced Head at the beginning of the chase, beat Kohli with a googly. This started a mini-collapse for RCB, as by the conclusion of the 10th over, they were 122 for 5, with Pat Cummins striking twice, including getting du Plessis for 62.
Karthik then came on stage to delight the audience. He and Lomror shared a powerful partnership of 59 runs, raising hopes of an unlikely finish for a brief while, but Markande and Jaydev Unadkat conceded 46 runs in the 13th and 14th overs.
RCB’s hopes were virtually dashed with a six-run 15th over from Cummins, which also saw the removal of Lomror. However, Karthik persisted, hitting at least one six per over until he was removed with eight balls left. Despite hitting seven sixes, including a switch-hit off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he was unable to stop RCB from losing for the fifth time in a row and dropping to the bottom of the points table.
Travis Head On SRH’s Explosive Attitude
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s record-breaking 287 for 3 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium was built up by the opener’s 41-ball 102.
Opener Travis Head stated his team would like to aim for 300 as their next challenge after helping Sunrisers Hyderabad collect 287 for 3 with a 39-ball century and smash the IPL record for highest total for the second time this season. He also gave praise to head coach Daniel Vettori and captain Pat Cummins for pressuring the openers to continue being aggressive in the opening six overs.
“[Our total] needs a three in front of it, does it now?” After the Sunrisers’ opening innings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Monday, Head made a joke when questioned in between innings about the goals the team is setting for itself. “This is correct batting. Pat and Dan have put emphasis on the batting lineup to make sure we try to maximize the powerplay and then keep going. We’ve tried to be exciting the entire time and take the game on.
“We have players like Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abdul Samad, and Heinrich Klaasen, who didn’t even receive a hit today. We want to continue applying as much pressure as we can while we still have some leverage in the center. Although we are aware that this isn’t always the case, right now I believe we’re setting up our plays incredibly effectively in each game and achieving the necessary score.”
Head scored nine of the 22 sixes that the Sunrisers struck, the most in IPL history. Head reached his fifty and, with Abhishek Sharma, helped Sunrisers storm to 76 for 0 in the powerplay. Head stated he was having fun batting with Abhishek after the game. “We truly work well together as a complement. He’s a fairly fearless young player. He was so strong against them, and there was a hint of spin in the powerplay. I adore it.
Head eventually fell for a 41-ball 102 in the 13th over. However, there was no solace from his wicket as Klaasen hit a brilliant 31-ball 67 from No. 3. Klaasen was also gushing about his teammate, saying that he had set up the match and made his work easier.
“That was an unbelievable beginning for Heady. It’s a particularly harsh blow. puts a lot of pressure on the bowler,” Klaasen said to the broadcaster following the match. “When I first arrived, I wanted to be very practical, knock things around, and make sure he faced most of the balls. When it’s his night, make sure I’m on the other side and wait for a few bad balls since it’s hard to outhit players like that. And when he leaves, I should take over.
“The tempo was established upfront, but it was lovely to bat there and the wicket was nice and good. Having bowlers under pressure when you arrive is nice.”
Du Plessis On RCB’s Mindset
“The game is moving forward and so fast these days from the batters, so when you are not on top of your game [as a bowler], it’s hard,” explains the RCB captain.
After losing their sixth straight match, Sunrisers Hyderabad outhit them at the Chinnaswamy, smashing a record 287 for 3, the captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Faf du Plessis, acknowledged that such outcomes could be mentally taxing.
The runs lost in the first innings were just too many to overcome, despite the fact that RCB responded with an outstanding 262 for 7, and he attributed it to a lack of faith in the bowling unit. Despite starting the game with just five bowlers, including Mohammed Siraj on the bench, RCB entered the game having just conceded 199 in 15.3 overs against the Mumbai Indians in their last match.
After the game, du Plessis remarked, “It’s tough, we tried quite a few things, a few different things, and they weren’t quite working.” Thus, it’s an indication of trust in the opposing faction. In the game, there’s nowhere to run to when you’re feeling low on confidence.
It’s difficult to be a bowler these days because batters are moving the ball so quickly and with such intensity. It’s obviously difficult on a track like that with five bowlers. We’re going to continue experimenting.”
“It’s important to stay away from it and make sure that we do get back to the next challenge – which is obviously a little bit of an uphill task for us at the moment – but when we do get back to the contest, we show full commitment 100%.”
The Sunrisers’ onslaught had scared the home crowd into silence, but now they could enjoy their own side, scoring 262, the fourth-highest total of the season.
It was set up by du Plessis’s 28-ball 62, Virat Kohli’s 20-ball 42, and Dinesh Karthik‘s 35-ball 83, which combined to propel RCB to a score that was just one point shy of the team’s all-time record IPL score of 263 for 5 from the 2013 IPL. The fact that the team did not “fall like a deck of cards” during the chase, according to Du Plessis, was what most impressed him.
“Great effort from the team to get closer to the target,” he commented. In a same vein, there are some things we need to improve as batters. As a batting unit, we made a few mistakes and needed to improve. We also wanted to concentrate on the small dip that occurred following the powerplay. The game has altered and evolved with the scores the teams are posting, so we need to make sure the run rate doesn’t drop and we continue.
However, I was incredibly proud of the boys for fighting tonight, raising their hands, and never giving up. Teams frequently fall apart during a large chase like this one, much like a deck of cards. I’m glad to watch the fight this evening. However, thirty to forty runs is too many from a bowling standpoint.”
