Top 5 Matches in the Group Stages of IPL 8

2 – Match 52: Sunrisers Hyderabad Vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore:

In a rain-truncated thriller, this was the match which had it’s terrible share of adrenaline rush. With the game reduced to 11-overs a side, it was a swaggering start by SRH, when they simply outplayed the RCB bowlers, courtesy of Warner (52 off 32) and Henriques (57 off 22). SRH scored 135 runs in their quota of 11 overs when rain intruded in the game for yet another time. Finally, things got reduced to the wire where RCB needed 81 runs in 6 overs. Things were supposed to be daunting but not impossible in the likes of Gayle, De Villiers and Kohli. It was a butchering start by Gayle which did set the pace for RCB in the chase. Gayle scored 35 runs off 10 deliveries to put RCB into an initial zone of comfort. But things took a twist when Henriques took 2 crucial wickets(Gayle and De Villiers) in successive deliveries. Finally, with 13 runs required of the last over, all eyes were on Virat Kohli. For yet another time, he showed his class under such amplified amount of pressure. With 4 runs requiring off the ultimate 2 deliveries, Kohli smacked Bhuvi straight down the wicket into the long off region. Warner took a sensible catch initially but got carried away to celebrate the catch and touched the boundary ropes, which took RCB par the victory line. It was a “Lagaan” alike finish!
Match Summary: SRH – 135/3 in 11 overs. (Warner 52, Wiese 2/20)
RCB – 83/4 in 5.5 overs (Kohli 44*, Henriques 2/3) [RCB won by D/L method]