IPL 2020 Highlights, RCB vs SRH Match, Full Cricket Score: Holder's cameo helps Sunrisers win by five wickets, keeps playoff hopes alive

SRH captain David Warner: Losing Vijay is a big miss. For us we have worked out, how to go about at the top of the order. All the credit today goes to the bowlers. The wicket now is slowing up quite a bit. It just can’t be slower balls or yorkers, you have to hit the deck as well. Tonight, the bowlers have executed it well. Dubai has been the same, I think it gets dewy here. It wasn’t a surprise at all. Holder’s a great all-rounder. To bowl a bouncer against someone like him, you have to dig it very short. It’s great to have consistency and momentum heading into the next game, which is a do or die as well. In 2016 we had to win three games and we did that.

Sandeep Sharma: When I started bowling, the wicket was a bit sticky, so my plan was to bowl wicket-to-wicket. I’ve been bowling knuckle ball and have been getting big help from Jonny Bairstow on how I can go about my business. It took me around 3-4 months to land it at proper pace. It is coming along nicely at the moment. He’s obviously one of the greatest batsmen this sport has seen and it’s always special to dismiss him. We’re finding our momentum. One game to go, and we’re excited for that.

Sandeep Sharma is the Player of the Match for his haul of 2/20 from four overs:

Virat Kohli, RCB captain: It was never enough. We thought 140 would be a good total, but things changed drastically. There was a lot of dew in the second innings, and it was very difficult to hold the ball. You need enough runs on the board regardless of the conditions. Today we weren’t brave enough with the bat, and credit to their bowlers. It’s a very competitive tournament, and you can’t take any game or any team lightly. It’s going to be a cracker of a game. I’ve always been a Bangalore boy in the IPL, never drifted towards Delhi.

We have the last four matches left and three spots still available for playoffs this IPL.

Done and Dusted! SRH have beaten RCB by five wickets, with more than five overs to spare. Holder was an assuring presence for SRH and sealed his side’s victory in style, with a massive six over long-on.

After 14 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 115/5 ( Jason Holder 20 , Abdul Samad 0)

Saini has been called back into the attack. Kohli reviews for LBW off the first ball against Holder, but the ball touched Holder’s bat on that occasion. Holder pulls the second ball for massive six, before inside edging off the next and yet, still finding a boundary. Sharma helps the ball on its way for a six off the penultimate ball before handing a simple catch to Gurkeerat in the deep. 19 runs and a wicket in that over.

OUT! Unnecessary shot from Abhishek. He holes out to Gurkeerat Singh in the deep.  Abhishek Sharma c Gurkeerat Singh b Navdeep Saini 8(5)

SIX! Sharma just helps it on its way for a maximum. Wise thing, he used the pace of Saini on that occasion.

FOUR! Inside edge but it races past the wicketkeeper for another boundary. Unlucky for Saini and RCB!

SIX! Short from Saini and Holder pulls it over square leg for a maximum. Easy as you like!

After 13 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 96/4 ( Abhishek Sharma 2 , Jason Holder 9)

Udana into his third over. Starts off with a slower one against Williamson, who holes out to Virat Kohli at covers. Once again, we spot an animated Kohli. Holder deposits a short delivery from Udana over deep mid-wicket for a maximum. Nine runs and a wicket in the over.

SIX! Short from Udana and Holder pulls it towards deep mid wicket for a boundary. Stand and deliver from the big man!

OUT! Slower one from Udana at Williamson holes out to Kohli in the cover region. And the skipper’s delighted with that breakthrough.Can this bring RCB back in the game? Williamson c Kohli b Udana 8(14)

After 12 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 87/3 ( Kane Williamson 8 , Abhishek Sharma 2)

Right, spin from both ends as Sundar returns for his third over. Both the batsmen doing the wise thing, simply rotating strike as the required run rate is under check. Five runs off the over, all through singles.

After 11 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 82/3 ( Kane Williamson 5 , )

Chahal into his third over. Smart move this from Kohli, who knows now’s the time to go for the kill. Saha shimmies down the wicket and powers the first for a four towards deep mid-wicket. Chahal tempts Saha to go for the big shot and spins a web around the batter. And ABD dislodges the stumps in flash. Eight runs and a wicket in that over.

Most wickets in middle-overs this IPL:

17 – Rashid Khan
14 – Y Chahal*
13 – R Chahar

OUT! Classic leg spin! Chahal tosses it up, tempts Saha to go down the track and de Villiers does the rest behind the stumps. Saha st de Villiers b Chahal 39(32)

FOUR! Width from Chahal, Saha shimmies down the wicket and powers it through deep mid-wicket for a boundary.

After 10 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 74/2 ( Wriddhiman Saha (W) 33 , Kane Williamson 3)

Udana returns. Starts off with a full toss and Saha creams it through the covers for a boundary. The third ball slips out of Udana’s hands, Williamson thought that it was over the waist and should be called a no-ball. The umpire though had other ideas. Right, change of ball in the middle of the over. Can this also be a change of fortunes for RCB? Not quite! Seven runs off the over, courtesy a boundary and three singles.

FOUR! Full toss and Saha happily accepts it. He whacks it through covers for a boundary. Well placed!

After 9 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 67/2 ( Wriddhiman Saha (W) 27 , Kane Williamson 2)

Chahal into his second over. Saha hits the ball straight to the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Chahal claimed he got a hand to that, but the third umpire turned down the decision. Fantastic display of swing bowling from Chahal, even though he is struggling to grip the ball because of the dew. Just three runs off the over.

After 8 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 64/2 ( Wriddhiman Saha (W) 25 , Kane Williamson 1)

Isuru Udana, left-arm fast medium, comes into the attack. Williamson, the new man in, gets off the mark straight away, with a single towards backward point. Saha helps the second ball towards fine leg for a double. Lovely change of pace from Udana off the fourth. After getting beaten, Williamson carefully defends off the final two deliveries. Superb bowling from Udana, just four runs in his over.

After 7 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 38/2 ( Josh Philippe 20 , AB de Villiers (W) 4)

End of the strategic time out and Yuzvendra Chahal, Virat Kohli’s trump card, takes the ball. And the leggie lives up to his reputation, removes Manish Pandey with a tossed-up delivery off the fourth. Pandey handed a simple catch to Morris at long-on. Two runs and a wicket off Chahal’s first. RCB need more of such overs.

OUT! If there’s one man who can turn things around for RCB, it’s Chahal. Beautifully tossed up from the leggie and Pandey hands a simple catch to Morris at long-on**. Manish Pandey c Chris Morris b Chahal 26(19)**

After 6 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 58/1 ( Wriddhiman Saha (W) 21 , Manish Pandey 25)

Final over of the powerplay and Mohammed Siraj comes into the attack. Right, once again, RCB are in a precarious position, can he help their case? Not quite as Saha collects a four and a six in his over. Clearly, the short ball ploy is not working. 12 runs off the over. And we head into the strategic time out!

SIX! Short from Siraj and Saha pulls it towards square leg for a maximum. The short ball ploy is not working.

FOUR! Saha goes straight past the bowler’s head for a boundary. Straight as an arrow that!

After 5 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 46/1 ( Wriddhiman Saha (W) 9 , Manish Pandey 25)

Morris into his second over. Strays on the pads off the first and Pandey flicks the ball for a four. Once again, bowls the third into Pandey’s body and the batsman picks up a single there. RCB’s pace spearhead bowls three wides and struggles with his line in this over. But Kohli’s men do not have the luxury of giving away freebies. Pandey collects a boundary off the last. 15 runs off the over, costly one from Morris.

FOUR! Angling into the pads and Pandey just helps it on his way. The ball races away towards the fine leg fence.

1000-plus runs for SRH in IPL:

David Warner
Shikhar Dhawan
Kane Williamson
Manish Pandey*

FOUR! Beautiful use of the wrists by Manish Pandey, who flicks it towards deep mid-wicket for a boundary.

After 3 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 22/1 ( Wriddhiman Saha (W) 1 , Manish Pandey 12)

Washington Sundar returns. Pandey creams the first ball towards extra cover for a rare triple. Saha plays his trademark sweep shot off the third, which fetches him a boundary. Two runs off the last three balls. Nine runs off Sundar’s second over.

FOUR! Saha gets down one leg and sweeps it square of the wicket for a boundary. Just helped it on its way!

Sundar’s economy rate in PP overs in IPL:

2017 – 6.56
2018 – 12.83
2019 – 9.00
2020 – 5.60

After 3 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 22/1 ( Wriddhiman Saha (W) 1 , Manish Pandey 12)

Navdeep Saini comes into the attack and gets smacked for a four and a six from the blade of Pandey, who is timing the ball beautifully. The speedster beats Saha off the last, with a peach of a delivery that almost took an outside edge. 11 runs off the over.

Leading into this game, SRH have lost the least wickets (9) in PP overs this season and their scoring rate (8.24) is also the highest.

SIX! Short from Saini and Pandey pulls it over deep mid wicket for a maximum.

Four! Pandey charges at Saini and powers the ball down the ground for a boundary.

After 2 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 11/1 ( Wriddhiman Saha (W) 1 , Manish Pandey 1)

Washington Sundar comes into the attack and he gets rid of the dangerous Warner, who found Udana at mid-on. Warner had collected a six of the first ball, thanks to a ferocious pull shot but Sundar came back beautifully. Seven runs and a wicket off the second over.

OUT! This time it wasn’t as short from Sundar, Warner still went for the pull shot but found Udana at mid-on. Big wicket this, RCB need more of these. Warner c Udana b Washington Sundar 8(5)

SIX! Warner pulls it with disdain over cow corner. First maximum of SRH’s innings.

After 1 over ,Sunrisers Hyderabad 4/0 ( David Warner (C) 2 , Wriddhiman Saha (W) 1)

Morris with the first over for RCB. Starts off with a wide. Warner gets off the mark with a pull towards deep square leg. Saha almost plays on to his stumps off the second, before giving the strike to Warner. Josh dives to his left and saves a certain boundary off the last. Four runs off the first over, tidy start this from Morris. But RCB need wickets.

Right, time for the chase as David Warner and Wriddhiman Saha walk out to bat for SRH. Chris Morris will take the new ball for RCB. Here we go!

Sandeep Sharma (4-0-20-2): (On dismissing Kohli seven times in the IPL) Actually I didn’t know that. Someone came and told me. He’s a great, and getting his wicket is always special. (On the straighter deliveries) I’m working on that, and today it came out nicely. I need to change my wrist position, which I’m working on in the nets. Knuckle ball is coming out nicely. Have been bowling that for the last three years. I know my lengths with that. When we started bowling, that time it was little bit sticky, but now there’s dew and the ball is coming nicely on to the bat.

After 20 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 120/7 ( Gurkeerat Singh Mann 15 , Mohammed Siraj 2)

Swing and a miss for Siraj off the first delivery, but he sets off for the non-striker’s nevertheless to bring the relatively set Gurkeerat to the crease. Dot off the next two balls, with Gurkeerat sending his partner back after steering the ball towards the fielder standing at short fine leg. He then drives the ball square through the off side for a single off the fourth. Just one to Siraj off the fifth as Williamson stops the ball inside the circle at extra cover. Last delivery of the innings ends with a leg bye as Gurkeerat sets off for the non-striker’s end after getting hit on the pad plumb in front of the wickets — which would’ve been out had the ball not pitched outside leg.

Natarajan signs off with superb figures of 1/11 from his quota of four overs as Sunrisers Hyderabad restrict Royal Challengers Bangalore to 120/7 after opting to field!

After 19 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 116/7 ( Gurkeerat Singh Mann 14 , Mohammed Siraj 1)

The wickets continue to tumble for the Royal Challengers as Morris holes out to Warner at long on while attempting to hoick a low full toss from Holder over the fence. Gurkeerat heaves the ball inside out off the next delivery, but luckily for him, the ball lands well short of sweeper cover Abhishek. Udana tries the same shot off the fourth, but only serves up an easy catch for Williamson just outside the circle near extra cover. Single off each of the last two balls, with Siraj getting off the mark off the final delivery, as Holder signs off with excellent figures of 2/27.

OUT! One more for Jason Holder in the wickets column today as Udana perishes for a golden duck while trying to heave the ball inside out, getting the height but not the distance. Easy catch for Williamson — his second of the evening — near extra cover. RCB 114/7

Udana c Williamson b Holder 0(1)

OUT! Morris lasts a total of four deliveries today as he hits a low full toss from Holder straight into the waiting hands of David Warner at long on! RCB 112/6

Morris c Warner b Holder 3(4)

After 18 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 111/5 ( Gurkeerat Singh Mann 12 , Chris Morris 1)

Natarajan returns to the attack. Morris finds himself at the crease facing the second delivery of the over after Natarajan plucks a catch off his own bowling to dismiss Sundar for 21. Nearly a second wicket for Natarajan three balls later after a thick top-edge off Gurkeerat’s bat ends up getting parried towards the third man boundary rope by Sandeep, who’s running in the opposite direction from inside the circle. Five runs and a wicket from this one. Two more overs to go in the RCB innings.

FOUR! Natarajan could’ve had two wickets in four balls! Instead, the chance goes begging after a thick top-edge off Gurkeerat’s bat sends the ball high up in the air towards the third man fence, where Sandeep — running in the opposite direction from inside the circle — ends up parrying the ball towards the advertising cushion. RCB 111/5

OUT! Natarajan ends what was starting to look like a dangerous partnership for SRH as he collects a return catch off Sundar, who departs after getting off to a promising start. Wasn’t an easy chance, mind you, as the bowler had a fraction of a second to react. RCB 106/5

Sundar c and b Natarajan 21(18)

After 17 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 106/4 ( Washington Sundar 21 , Gurkeerat Singh Mann 8)

Sharma returns for his final over, with Sundar and Mann dealing in singles in this over to keep the scoreboard ticking. Gurkeerat tries to slog the ball towards deep backward square-leg off the third delivery, the ball nearly travelling all the way to Rashid standing near the boundary. Sandeep signs off with 2/20, the pick of the bowlers so far.

After 16 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 99/4 ( Washington Sundar 18 , Gurkeerat Singh Mann 5)

Sundar somewhat ruins what was turning out to be a very economical final over for Rashid by going for an inside out loft over extra cover off the penultimate delivery. Rashid nearly gets a second wicket off his last ball of the evening, with Pandey putting down a tough chance at extra cover, with Sundar surviving on 18. Rashid signs off with 1/24.

FOUR! A welcome boundary for the Royal Challengers as Sundar goes for an inside out loft over extra cover to collect his second boundary! RCB 99/4

After 15 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 93/4 ( Washington Sundar 13 , Gurkeerat Singh Mann 4)

Holder leaks a boundary at the start of his second spell as Sundar slashes the ball hard behind square on the off side to collect his first boundary. The Bajan is more disciplined thereafter, giving away just three singles off the remaining deliveries.

FOUR! Expensive start for Holder in his second spell as Sundar slashes the back-of-length delivery over backward point for a boundary at the start of the 15th over. RCB 90/4

After 14 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 86/4 ( Washington Sundar 7 , Gurkeerat Singh Mann 3)

Pace brought back into play after a few overs of spin from both ends as Warner brings Natarajan back into the attack. Tidy over from the left-arm seamer, giving away just three singles, as the umpire signals timeout for the second time in this innings. RCB are going nowhere at the moment, with their run rate a shade above six an over at the moment. They’ll need Sundar, Mann and the remainder of the batting order to take full toll of the remaining overs if they are to give their bowlers the cushion of a competitive total.

After 13 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 83/4 ( Washington Sundar 5 , Gurkeerat Singh Mann 2)

Tidy over from Nadeem, giving away five singles and a brace as new batsmen Sundar and Gurkeerat open their accounts, as the left-arm spinner signs off with figures of 1/35, getting the crucial wicket of de Villiers along the way.

After 12 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 76/4 ( Washington Sundar 0 , Gurkeerat Singh Mann 0)

Rashid starts off with a couple of dots, but errs in his line while bowling a wrong ‘un off the third, firing this wide outside leg which subsequently runs all the way to the fine leg fence, adding five wides to the RCB total. He more than makes up for it later in the over by getting rid of the well-set Philippe, who heaves the ball towards deep midwicket without ever getting the distance on that one, resulting in the easiest of catches for Pandey stationed near the boundary rope.

OUT! One wicket fetches another, as Philippe this time hits the ball straight down Pandey’s throat at deep midwicket! The Aussie never got the distance on that one, and made for the easiest of chances. RCB 76/4

Philippe c Pandey b Rashid 32(31)

After 11 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 71/3 ( Josh Philippe 32 , Washington Sundar 0)

De Villiers punishes another short delivery from a spinner, this time smashing one from Nadeem over long on for a maximum. The South African doesn’t last long beyond that hit however, as he perishes after hitting one shot too many, holing out to Abhishek Sharma at deep extra cover off the last ball.

OUT! Huge wicket for SRH as AB de Villiers goes for an inside out loft over extra cover, unfortunately straight into the hands of Abhishek Sharma standing near the boundary! Nadeem makes up for the dropped catch off ABD earlier in the innings. RCB 71/3

De Villiers c Abhishek b Nadeem 24(24)

SIX! Short from Nadeem, and de Villiers smokes this over long on with disdain! RCB 67/2

After 10 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 61/2 ( Josh Philippe 31 , AB de Villiers (W) 15)

Single off each delivery of this over except the fifth, in which ABD gets a half tracker from Rashid and instantly gets on his backfoot to hammer this towards the midwicket fence. RCB have recovered to a relatively better position at the halfway mark, with the partnership between Philippe and Padikkal currently worth 33.

FOUR! Half tracker to ABD from Rashid, and the South African gets on his backfoot and hammers this towards the midwicket fence! RCB 60/2

After 9 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 52/2 ( Josh Philippe 29 , AB de Villiers (W) 8)

Good over this one for the Royal Challengers, and they’ll need a few more of these if they are to post a challenging total tonight. with 10 coming off this one including a fourth boundary to Philippe off the fourth delivery. Timeout signalled at the end of the over.

FOUR! In the slot for Philippe, and he drills this down the ground with authority! Brings up the fifty for the Royal Challengers. RCB 50/2

After 8 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 42/2 ( Josh Philippe 21 , AB de Villiers (W) 6)

Interesting battle between ABD and Rashid in this over, with the Afghan leggie keeping Mr 360 largely in check with his variations. De Villiers steers the ball through point for a brace off the last delivery. Four from the over.

AB de Villiers v Rashid Khan in IPL:

Runs : 16
Balls : 16
Dismissals : 2

AB de Villiers v Sandeep Sharma in IPL:

Dismissals : 2
SR : 206.12
Balls : 49
4/6 : 9/7

After 7 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 38/2 ( Josh Philippe 20 , AB de Villiers (W) 4)

Shahbaz Nadeem into the attack after the powerplay. Single off each of the first three deliveries, before Philippe goes lap-sweeps the ball over short fine leg to collect his third boundary. Nadeem drops ABD on 4 after putting down a return catch off the last delivery. How costly will that prove for the Orange Army today?

FOUR! Paddled away towards the fine leg fence, well over the fielder standing inside the circle. Philippe got the timing right on this occasion. RCB 37/2

After 6 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 30/2 ( Josh Philippe 14 , AB de Villiers (W) 2)

Natarajan brought into the attack now. Sharp start for the left-arm seamer from Tamil Nadu as he gives away just one run — a quick single to de Villiers off the fourth delivery. Shaky powerplay for the Royal Challengers as they lose the wickets of the in-form Padikkal and Kohli while collecting just 30 runs.

After 5 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 29/2 ( Josh Philippe 14 , AB de Villiers (W) 1)

Single off each of the first two deliveries. Fine effort by Williamson at extra cover after a punch through the off side by Kohli, saving a couple of runs for his side. Kohli targets the same region again next ball, but this time serves up a catch to Williamson, who’s too good a fielder to put this down, giving Sandeep his second wicket in the powerplay. ABD walks out at No 4, and edges the ball towards third man for a single to get off the mark right away. Dot off the last ball.

Dismissing Kohli most times in IPL:

7 : Sandeep Sharma*
6 : Ashish Nehra

OUT! Second wicket for Sandeep inside the powerplay as Kohli steers the ball straight to Williamson at extra cover! Sunrisers are on top with this start! Seventh time the seamer gets rid of the India and RCB skipper in IPL! RCB 28/2

Kohli c Williamson b Sandeep 7(7)

After 4 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 24/1 ( Josh Philippe 13 , Virat Kohli (C) 4)

Holder starts off with a wide, which is followed by some quick running between the wickets displayed by Kohli and his Aussie partner as the pair pinch three singles, a leg bye and a brace off the next four deliveries. Philippe ends the over by slapping a short ball over mid off for a boundary.

FOUR! Short of length from Holder, and Philippe clears his front leg and slaps this over mid off. The fielder standing inside the circle gives it a chase, but in vain. RCB 24/1

After 3 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 13/1 ( Josh Philippe 8 , Virat Kohli (C) 0)

Philippe nearly serves Sandeep a return catch after getting deceived by the knuckle ball, coupled by the slowness of the pitch. Thankfully for him though, the ball lands short of the bowler. The Aussie then collects his first boundary with a well-timed punch down the ground, finding the long off fence. Sandeep strikes off the penultimate delivery, with Padikkal getting his defence beaten while looking to swipe the ball over mid on. Skipper Kohli walks out next, and blocks the last delivery.

BOWLED! Sandeep gets the breakthrough afterall after missing out on a return catch earlier in the over. Padikkal looks to heave the ball over mid on, but the ball ends up travelling through the gap between bat and pad, and shatters the timber. RCB 13/1

Padikkal 5(8)

FOUR! Clobbered down the ground by Philippe, with long on failing to get to the ball in time after running to his left. RCB 12/0

After 2 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 8/0 ( Josh Philippe 3 , Devdutt Padikkal 5)

Swing and a miss for Philippe off the first delivery as Jason Holder bowls from the other end. Short-of-length delivery to Padikkal off the fourth cramps the southpaw for room, travelling close to his outside edge. Padikkal collects the first boundary of the match off the last ball of the over.

FOUR! First boundary of the innings, and this one comes off Padikkal’s bat, working the ball down the ground off the last delivery of the over. RCB 8/0

After 1 over,Royal Challengers Bangalore 3/0 ( Josh Philippe 2 , Devdutt Padikkal 1)

Tidy start for Sandeep at the start of the RCB innings as he gives away just three runs — all singles — in his first over.

Devdutt Padikkal and Josh Philippe walk out to the centre along with SRH’s chosen XI, with Sandeep Sharma getting the ball for the first over of the evening.

RCB have a 7-8 win/loss record against SRH in IPL 

If SRH lose today, they will be out of the playoffs’ race.

If RCB win today, they will become the second team to qualify for this year’s playoffs.

SRH XI: David Warner (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan

RCB XI: Josh Philippe, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Virat Kohli, RCB captain: We wanted to bat first to be honest. Looks pretty dry on the surface, and we think it’s going to get slower. Navdeep’s back for Dube, and Udana replace Steyn. (Against Mumbai) It was a strange phase of batting out there, usually doesn’t happen. Still, we put up a good fight. We’re not too far away from putting up the professional performance we have so far this season.

David Warner, SRH captain: Vijay Shankar is out due to a hamstring injury, but Saha is fit. We need to start fresh and come out all guns blazing. Different wicket in Dubai compared to the one here in Sharjah, so important to start well. We’ve only had one look at this ground, and it looks like it has slowed down a little bit.

TOSS: SRH win the toss, and skipper David Warner opts to bowl

“If you are a batsman today, don’t go too hard. Trust your gameplan, make sure that you put the bad balls away and look to score runs,” says Kumar Sangakkara in the pitch report.

Mumbai Indians confirm themselves for Qualifier 1 — which is reserved for the teams that finish in the top two slots of the IPL points table — after their commanding win over Delhi Capitals. The result also makes the remaining matches of the group phase all the more interesting, with three Playoff slots still up for grabs.

WI begin their quarantine in NZ

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, the West Indian squad begin their two-week quarantine in Christchurch after clearing their health tests following their arrival in New Zealand for the tour comprising three T20Is and two Tests, starting 27 November.

RR’s overseas quartet come to the party

Rajasthan Royals kept their campaign alive by acing another challenging run chase, this time against Kings XI Punjab who had set them 186 to win. While Jofra Archer bowled four brilliant overs, Steve Smith and Jos Buttler stitched an unbeaten stand to take their team home and Ben Stokes was the Player of the Match for his all-round contribution.

Certainly some promising signs for the 2008 champions as they keep their hopes of winning a second title alive.

MI cruising in 111-run chase

Meanwhile in the other game in Dubai, Mumbai Indians are comfortably placed in the chase after being set just 111 to win by the Delhi Capitals, with Ishan Kishan bringing up his sixth IPL half-century to put his team in command.

Here are the full squads of both the franchises that will be in action later this evening. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Gurkeerat Mann, Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Dale Steyn, Isuru Udana, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Pavan Deshpande, Parthiv Patel, Joshua Philippe, Shahbaz Ahmad

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (c), Abhishek Sharma, Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Billy Stanlake, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shreevats Goswami, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Jason Holder, Sandeep Bavanaka, Fabian Allen, Abdul Samad, Sanjay Yadav

West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has been fined for throwing his bat in frustration after missing out on a record-extending seventh IPL century by one run against RR.

Last night, star England all-rounder Ben Stokes stole the limelight from Chris Gayle as Rajasthan Royals clicked as a unit to beat Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets. This defeat thus ended the five-match winning spree for KL Rahul and Co, while RR stayed in the hunt for playoffs.

Click here to check out the key moments from the match

With a playoff spot at stake, Royal Challengers Bangalore need to shrug off the disappointment of two back-to-back defeats and put up a strong challenge against strong-willed Sunrisers Hyderabad when the two teams clash on Saturday.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Match 52 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Putting behind two back-to-back defeats, RCB would aim to bounce back and cement their position in the playoffs. On the other hand, this is a do or die game for SRH, who also have to win their upcoming game against Mumbai Indians to stay in the reckoning. Stay tuned as we will bring you the live updates and over-by-over commentary of this mouth-watering clash.