IPL 2016, RCB vs SRH as it happened: Kohli, de Villiers power Bangalore's 45-run win over Sunrisers

“Ashish Nehra is going to be out for a couple of games, he has picked up a groin injury”  – David Warner

“We’ll try and take positives from the game and hope for a quick turnaround.” – Warner praises Mustafizur (2-26 from his 4 overs)

And it’s all over, Royal Challengers Bangalore win by 45 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad. RCB start the ninth season of IPL in style. Kohli continues his otherworldly form with yet another 50, AB chose the day to return to form, new addition Watson gave an all-round performance (19 runs that had 3 sixes, and 2 wickets), Sarfaraz played a blistering cameo. A complete and dominating performance.

Shikhar Dhawan’s form would be a cause of worry for SRH, Warner though looked in fine nick. But the bowling left much to be desired. Nehra’s injury also needs to be taken into stock, it could be a big blow if the in-form veteran is sidelined.

After 19 overs,Hyderabad 173/6 ( Eoin Morgan 21 , Karn Sharma 19)

Karn Sharma resisting a lost cause, he’s muscled a couple fours and six in the last two overs. But all too little and too late. Sunrisers need 55 runs off the last over. Impossible is the word that jumps to mind. This game has been one-sided.

After 16 overs,Hyderabad 147/6 ( Eoin Morgan 15 , )

OUT! Reddy’s cameo ends, he departs on 32 off 18 balls. Watson bowls him out and gets his second wicket on the night.

After 15 overs,Hyderabad 139/5 ( Eoin Morgan 8 , Ashish Reddy 31)

Reddy continues his fightback and Rasool becomes the target this time in the 15th over. He first slogs on the leg side for four and then a maximum over long-on. 14 runs off the over, but much more needed. 89 off 30 balls the chase now.  RRR touching 18 now.

After 14 overs,Hyderabad 125/5 ( Eoin Morgan 6 , Ashish Reddy 19)

Reddy slams two sixes off Chahal, hammers one over long-on and then sent the second one over extra cover. Reddy is fighting, but it’s too little too late for SRH.

After 12 overs,Hyderabad 106/5 ( Eoin Morgan 5 , Ashish Reddy 1)

OUT! Hooda departs, he pulls Chahal but AB is again there to catch it. Chahal scalps his second on the night, SRH lose 3 wickets in 3 overs. 

Eoin Morgan sweep that goes for four isn’t enough to pull back things now. RCB are cruising towards a big victory.

After 10 overs,Hyderabad 92/3 ( Moises Henriques 19 , Deepak Hooda 0)

Terrible spell for SRH, 2 overs, 2 wickets, just 9 runs. they’ll have to accelerate now to stay in the chase. RRR is over 13 now.

After 8 overs,Hyderabad 83/1 ( David Warner (C) 58 , Moises Henriques 11)

50 for Warner, the SRH captain reaches his half century off just 21 balls, with 4 fours and 4 sixes. He brings up his fifty in style with six straight down the ground. Chahal bears the brunt in the over, he goes for 19 runs, 2 sixes and a four; all Warner’s doing. 

The SRH skipper continues with his solo charge, he has raced to 58 off 24. 

After 7 overs,Hyderabad 64/1 ( David Warner (C) 40 , Moises Henriques 10)

Just 15 runs off the last two overs. Required RR has climbed over 12. Warner needs to unravel, and soon. Moises Henriques is having trouble gwtting it on, he’s on 10 off 14 balls.

After 5 overs,Hyderabad 49/1 ( David Warner (C) 33 , Moises Henriques 3)

Warner is leading the charge here for SRH. Another six and a four pair off Patel’s over. First the Australia lofts one over long-off for a massive six. Then he picks one from his leg stump and send sit down fine leg for four. 11 off the over, Warner on 33 off 15.

After 3 overs,Hyderabad 35/0 ( David Warner (C) 22 , Shikhar Dhawan 8)

Warner finally lets loose. A six and a four. Milne hasn’t had a good day. First Warner slams it over mid-wicket for four, then he picks up a lenghth delivery and hammers it over long-on. Juts what SRH needs to keep doing. 13 runs off the over.

After 2 overs,Hyderabad 22/0 ( David Warner (C) 11 , Shikhar Dhawan 6)

Watto into the attack. Warner decides this is the over. But RCB fielders decided other wise. 3 certain boundaries saved by a diving Binny, then a diving Kohli and then a diving Rasool. But Dhawan managed to dissect the fielders on the 4th ball, drives on a wide and full delivery that makes it to the ropes in the cover.

After 1 overs, Hyderabad 12/0 ( David Warner (C) 6 , Shikhar Dhawan 1)

Milne didn’t bowl bad in that first over, he was scorching; 144, 148, 149. But SRH and Warner were lucky to squeeze two fours out of the over. First, 5 wides, going down leg. ANd then Warner got an edge on 148 speeding bullet that raced to the third man fence. 12 runs off the over, Milne must be disappointed.

After 20 overs,Bangalore 227/4 ( Sarfaraz Khan 35 , Kedar Jadhav (W) 8)

Take a bow Sarfaraz, he slams another six and a four off the last ball to take RCB to 227/4. Sarfraz ended up at 35 not-out off 10 balls, 5 fours and 2 sixes. Chris Gyale says he’s like a son to him. What more can we say. It’s been a stupendous batting performance from RCB, they’ve flexed their willows. AB, Kohli, Watson and Sarfaraz have done more than enough. SRH will have to go bif from teh first ball, chasing a target of 228. Will it be a Warner night?

After 19 overs,Bangalore 214/4 ( Sarfaraz Khan 23 , Kedar Jadhav (W) 7)

WHAT AN OVER FOR RCB! 28 runs off it, Sarfraz Khan has gone berserk and decided to go one up over AB and Kohli. He has raced to 23 off 6 balls. 5 fours and a six from the over. 

Ball 1: No ball, Kedar Jadhav sends the beamer to point.

Ball 1: Single. Now Sarfraz goes on strike.

Ball 2: Four, driven away by Sarfraz

Ball 3: Full toss, Four, scooped, 200 up for RCB

Ball 4: SIX! What a shot, he just lays his bat out, opening the face and the ball, as if just bouncing on the bat, sails to third man for maximum.

Ball 5: Full toss again, this time on leg, scooped again. he is connecting everything.

Ball 6: Bhuvi finally lands the ball, but Srafraz slams it through extra cover.

Sarfraz has murdered Bhuvi here.

After 18 overs,Bangalore 186/4 ( Sarfaraz Khan 1 , Kedar Jadhav (W) 2)

Excellent over from Mustafizur, just 3 runs off and it and 2 crucial wickets. This could prove telling in SRH’s chase.

After 17 overs,Bangalore 183/2 ( AB de Villiers 82 , Shane Watson 19)

SIX, SIX, SIX: And after missing a couple of balls, a failed pull, he pulls again, but this time with maximum success. Watto sends Sharma flying over deep mid-wicket. And as if the floodgates opened, Wtason goes ahaed and plonks two more sixes in the next two balls. Insane stuff. Bear in mind, this gentleman has retired. The second one was slogged to mid-wicket, IPL-style. The third sent sailing over point. 19 runs off that over. Watson has rocketed to 19 off 7 balls.

After 15 overs,Bangalore 156/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 70 , AB de Villiers 81)

Seeing all the Kohli carnage, AB can;t contain himself. He vents now. Two huge sixes off Reddy’s over. Nehra is being missed. A slog over deep-midwicket and then a tonk over long-on. It’s a race to 100 between AB and Kohli. Their partnership has now reached 150!

Morrison is going mad

#IPL2016 is so hell bent on making itself look bad that they put Danny Morrison in commentary when Kohli & ABD are batting like this.

— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) April 12, 2016

After 14 overs,Bangalore 140/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 68 , AB de Villiers 68)

Kohli goes again. a four and six, Henriques bears the brunt. He sends a slower one to Kohli, in hope of something, anything, but Kohli picks it up, waits for it and belts it over long on for maximum. Just the next ball Kohli skips down the track and slices the ball for four. Exceptional batting. Kohli has taken over from AB, and it’s the South African’s turn to enjoy the show from non-striker’s end.

FIFTY for Kohli, he brings it up in style, with a massive six. He picks Sharma from his leg-stump, and sends the ball flying over wide long-on. Befire that he conjured another magical drive for four. It’s a race between AB and him. Kohli’s 50 came in 40 balls, 5 fours and 2 sixes.

After 12 overs,Bangalore 111/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 42 , AB de Villiers 66)

Moises Henriques pays the price now. AB slams him for four through deep cover and then pulls him to square leg. He’s raced to 66 off 34

After 11 overs,Bangalore 99/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 40 , AB de Villiers 56)

Ashish Reddy, doesn’t do any better though. He continues Nehra’s over but is hammered for four twice by AB. He brings up his fifty. Kohli isn’t too far from the milestone himslef.

After 10 overs,Bangalore 88/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 39 , AB de Villiers 46)

Karn Sharma gets the worst of AB. Or the best of him. Just a matter of perspectives. Two huge sixes back-to-back. First he sends a slog sweep sailing over mid-wicket, then he slog sweeps again over the moon… 

The second one almost cleared the stadium. 15 runs off the over.

After 9 overs,Bangalore 73/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 38 , AB de Villiers 32)

After a bit of lull, Kohli let’s it all out. He dances down the track to Moises Henriques, swings hard and sends the ball straight into the crowd. Six. The Kohli-ABD partnership has now reached 67, at a RR of 8.73. SRH is desperate need of a wicket here. They take a strategic time-out.

After 6 overs,Bangalore 49/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 18 , AB de Villiers 28)

Mustafizur brought into the attack, but he doesn’t escape Kohli’s wrath. The skipper glances the ball for a four. But just 6 from the over. A bit of a reprieve after the the brutality of the last 2 overs.

RCB 49/1 at the end of powerplay

After 5 overs,Bangalore 43/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 13 , AB de Villiers 27)

The show is on the road. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar the victim this time. Kohli lays into him with that eye-candy of a drive that he’s been brandishing for a while now. AB then obliges the crowd, slams a flat six, 68 metres, to point. You don’t bowl short to AB. Then he drives exquisitely, the ball never stopped kissing the ground on its way to long-off boundary. You don’t bowl full to him either. Lesson learnt. 

De Villers has raced to 27 off 15.