Spinners Shine as RCB Ends Losing Streak With Victory Over SRH In IPL 2024
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) showcased their spin prowess to secure a resounding 35-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), ending their six-match losing streak in the IPL.
Led by standout performances from Patidar and Green, RCB’s spin arsenal left SRH struggling throughout the match. For RCB, Kohli scored the most, but following the powerplay, his 51 off 43 experienced a slowing.
Sunrisers Hyderabad 171 for 8 (Shahbaz 40, Green 2-12, Karn 2-29, Swapnil 2-40) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 206 for 7 (Kohli 51, Patidar 50, Unadkat 3-30, Natarajan 2-39) by 35 runs.
The success of their spinners, who are regarded as the team’s least favorite unit, allowed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to dominate Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad. Their second-season triumph of 35 runs on Thursday prevented RCB from losing six straight games and kept them in the running for the playoffs.
As the favorites to chase down 207, SRH lost the opening over due to a tactical victory by part-time offspinner Will Jacks over left-hand hitter Travis Head. Then, veteran wristspinner Karn Sharma and rookie Swapnil Singh of the RCB inflicted further damage. As the tenth over approached, SRH was up eighty-five for six, and the outcome was all but certain.
RCB also had a successful day at bat, relying on short cameos from Cameron Green and Faf du Plessis in addition to Rajat Patidar’s 19-ball half-century. Even though he earned his 53rd IPL fifty after a significant deceleration, Virat Kohli’s 51 in 43 balls came at a strike rate of 118.60.
All of SRH’s IPL 2024 record-breaking totals have come from first bat. Therefore, when du Plessis decided to set a target instead, RCB denied them that chance. Despite the possibility that 206 was inside SRH’s boundaries, he claimed he wanted to put SRH under pressure on the scoreboard.
But as SRH gave way to RCB’s usage of spin in the first half of the chase, that all changed. In the first over, Jacks’ offspin, which deflected the two SRH openers, had Head top-edged for 1. After counterattacking with 31 off 13 balls, Abhishek Sharma was dismissed by Yash Dayal in the fourth over in attempt to maintain his momentum.
Despite the openers falling uncharacteristically early for SRH, Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram shown that they had no intention of slowing down. They combined to hit 19 off Swapnil’s opening over, but their overconfidence proved to be fatal as the left-arm spinner dismissed both of them in the same over. While Klaasen was holed out trying to hit a big shot, Markram got lbw from a full throw coming down the track.
Legspinner Karn was quickly sent on by Du Plessis to further target SRH, and he dismissed Abdul Samad and Nitish Kumar Reddy in back-to-back overs. Shahbaz Ahmed was still unbroken at forty and Pat Cummins hit thirty-one off fifteen, but by that point SRH was essentially trying to maintain their net run rate.
After three overs, du Plessis and Kohli had given RCB a thrilling start at 43 for no loss thanks to big overs against Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Cummins with the new ball. However, Kohli lost his flow after being dismissed for a 12-ball 25 by du Plessis and a 6-ball 6 by Jacks, in addition to some clean overs from T Natarajan and Shahbaz.
Also Read: Sunrisers Hyderabad Win Maiden IPL Title with Tight Victory Over RCB In 2016
Kohli battled to score his next 28 runs in 32 deliveries after sprinting to 23 in his first 11 balls. Shahbaz provided the pressure following the powerplay, while Jaydev Unadkat and Natarajan, who both relied on their array of slower balls, were the left-arm seam bowling duo. However, Patidar’s presence kept RCB’s scoring rate high. He relied on his strength to score the joint second-fastest fifty in RCB history. He entered the game with a strike rate of 125 against pacers and 197 against spinners in this IPL.
He immediately targeted Mayank Markande, hitting him for a six in the ninth over before ripping the legspinner for four consecutive sixes to take 27 off the eleventh over. Before the first over, he had already passed Kohli and achieved his fifty, but in an attempt to take another big shot, he was caught by Unadkat.
Playing in his 100th IPL match, Unadkat then removed Kohli in the 15th over and Mahipal Lomror in the 17th, but Green made sure RCB had the strong finish they required on the other end. Against Australia’s captain Cummins, he was especially deadly, hitting him for four fours in the final five overs to end undefeated on a 20-ball 37.
Before his bowling jolts in the chase, spin-bowling all-rounder Swapnil contributed with a six-ball 12 in the 20th over to help RCB surpass 200. Shahbaz’s success (0 for 14 in three overs) may have led RCB to bring him in as an Impact Player in the 19th over of the first innings.
FAF On The Win
“You cannot project confidence onto the group; neither can you pretend to project confidence.” Performance is the only thing that inspires confidence,” he declared.
After the in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated the bottom-seeded Royal Challengers Bangalore by 35 runs in Hyderabad, ending their six-match losing record, Faf du Plessis will “sleep easier”. Thanks to spinners Karn Sharma and Swapnil Singh, who together claimed four wickets early in the game, RCB was able to restrict the home team to 171 for 8, after Rajat Patidar’s 50 off 20 had put them on 206 for 7. RCB has maintained their chances of qualifying for the playoffs with this victory.
After previously acknowledging that a string of losses could have a negative psychological impact on his teammates, the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore described the victory as a “huge relief” and said it could restore the group’s morale.
“We’ve shown great signs of fight in the last two games,” du Plessis stated during the presentation. We managed to reach 260 in the SRH game, which was close to 270. The KKR game also ended in a single run. It nearly seemed like a record chase. We’ve been close for a while, but winning games is necessary to restore the group’s confidence. It is a great relief. It doesn’t matter where we are—losing has an impact on you psychologically and undermines your self-assurance. I’ll get a little better sleep tonight.”
“You cannot project confidence onto the group; neither can you pretend to project confidence.” Performance is the only factor that inspires confidence. We definitely felt that we weren’t performing to our maximum capacity during the first part of the competition. Furthermore, even though you undoubtedly give it your all when playing at 50% or 60%, your squad doesn’t gain confidence in you. You’ll be harmed [if you’re not at 100%] because the teams and the competition are so powerful.
“We have been putting a lot of effort into improving our own game for the past week and a half. As you can see from the previous game, our batting has some confidence. More players are now scoring runs for us. Virat [Kohli] was the lone player to contribute during the opening part of the competition. With Rajat putting in two excellent innings consecutively and Cameron Green scoring runs, it’s a huge relief for him to lift that burden. Since the scores are so high and no one player would ever score all of the runs, it is crucial for the batting lineup to work as a unit.”
Du Plessis went on to say that the shorter boundaries at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium made bowling there frustrating. His displeasure was demonstrated by the outcome, as RCB has dropped three of their last four home games while their bowlers have struggled to claim wickets. In a larger venue such as Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, du Plessis claimed his spinners were able to take full use of the layout and circumstances.
“We are aware of the Chinnaswamy, which has caused us a great deal of frustration. Honestly, it’s a hard ground to bowl at. It’s hardly the most level terrain. It feels difficult to spinners. We’re looking for a recipe that makes us feel like we can bowl there. But the guys have had difficulty coming up with a successful formula.
Karn [Sharma] was great when you had grounds like these, which are little larger and have a little bit of purchase in the wicket. You need a legspinner on your team, and I think that’s even more important in T20,” he remarked.
The last time RCB won was precisely one month prior, at the Chinnaswamy against Punjab Kings, where they chased down 177 runs. Green thought it was a bold move for them to bat at the toss on Thursday against the highly successful SRH.
“Little victories must always be celebrated, and right now we’re feeling terrific. It’s always pleasant to return to winning ways. [A gallant call to bat first] was made. I was undoubtedly against [batting first], therefore I give the captain and coach credit for that. The key reason was that SRH has been batting brilliantly when they bat first, according to Green.
The Australian all-rounder had been quiet in a few games, but on Thursday he came to life in all three areas. He scored an undefeated 37 off 20 at No. 5, then returned 2 for 12 in two overs. In the powerplay, he also made a vital, accurate catch to remove Heinrich Klaasen off of Swapnil’s bowling, leaving SRH at 56 for 4.
Regarding his ideal batting stance in Twenty20 cricket, he remarked, “I’m still young in my career so I’m trying to figure it out myself.” Naturally, I prefer to take the lead, but I also consider the demands of the team. I’m attempting self-education. [On the Klaasen catch] I believe that the entire time, I was thinking to myself, “Klaasen, Klaasen.” I’m glad I held onto it for the time it was up there.”
