IPL 2019: Match 54, RCB vs SRH, Review – Cyclone Shimron hits Bengaluru as RCB spoil Sunrisers' party

By losing this game to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have put themselves in a fix. The ‘Men in Orange’ are nearly knocked out of the tournament as they’ve finished the tournament with just 12 points. Shimron Hetmyer and Gurkeerat Singh were unbelievable for the home team after they were subjected to great pressure.

Their exceptional partnership in this match managed to outshine the efforts of SRH skipper Kane Williamson in this match. While RCB have exited the tournament on a respectable note, the fortunes of Hyderabad lie in the hands of Mumbai Indians (MI) now. Mumbai must win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the Sunrisers to make it to the playoffs.

Exploits from Kane Williamson at the end revives Hyderabad’s innings

Martin Guptill and Wriddhiman Saha yet again took SRH off to a great start after the team was put into bat first by the opposition. However, they couldn’t persist for a long duration this time either. 46 runs were added in 4.3 overs before Saha perished for 20 runs. After losing his partner, Guptill slowed down slightly and was dismissed by Washington Sundar. The SRH middle order fell apart this time as well. Manish Pandey could only score 9 runs in the match.

After smashing Sundar for two consecutive sixes, Vijay Shankar got a little too greedy and got out while trying to hit the third one out as well. Yusuf Pathan, who was roped into the eleven failed to make an impact. He got out for 3 runs while Mohammad Nabi was dismissed for 4. At the end of the 19th over, SRH were at 147. However, Umesh Yadav conceded 28 runs in the final over. Skipper Kane Williamson led the team from the front and remained unbeaten on 70 off 43 balls as Hyderabad finished with 175/7 in 20 overs.

Shimron Hetmyer, Gurkeerat Singh build a match-winning partnership

The home team suffered a massive blow losing all Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers early. The trio scored 0, 16 and 1 runs respectively as the side was brought down to 20/3. While it was presumed that it was game over for RCB at this point, Shimron Hetmyer and Gurkeerat Singh Mann had other plans. The Caribbean cricketer played his best knock of the season while the latter played the anchor.

Moreover, the Sunrisers were sloppy in the field which added to their woes. Yusuf Pathan dropped the dangerous Hetmyer at a crucial juncture in the game and so did Manish Pandey. Thus, all of these minute mistakes combined to make it a massive loss for the visitors. While Hetmyer was the aggressor early on under pressure, Gurkeerat joined the party later on.

The duo managed to pulverise Rashid Khan for a majority of the innings but Hetmyer got out to the leg-spinner in his last over for 75 runs. Gurkeerat also got out for 65 when the team was just 9 runs away from a win. Next ball, Washington Sundar was also dismissed by Khaleel Ahmed for a duck. RCB needed 6 to win in the last over and Umesh Yadav finished things in style by hitting two consecutive boundaries.

Brief Scores:

SRH: 175/7 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 70*, Martin Guptill 30, Washington Sundar 3/24)

RCB: 178/6 in 19.2 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 75, Gurkeerat Singh 65, Khaleel Ahmed 3/37)

Result: Royal Challengers Bangalore won the match by 4 wickets.

Man of the Match: Shimron Hetmyer

Points Table

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from the Indian Premier League (IPL), Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.