Yuvraj and Henriques combine to overcome RCB in IPL opener.
The IPL opener pins last years finalists against eachother – putting on a similar show to what we saw last year. The Sunrisers posted up a 200+ total and finished off successful after a good start from the Royal Challengers. The Sunrisers score of 207 was their second highest in IPL history – only one run behind last years final. Despite all of their power and matches at Bangalore, RCB have only successfully chased 200+ once in the IPL.
David Warner, Sunrisers captain – seemed to be putting in a similar performance to the final last year, but it was Yuvraj Singh’s great score of 62 runs off 27 balls that set up the total of 200. Yuvraj followed off of Moises admirable slog of 52 runs off 37. When Royal Challengers were out on the field, Chris Gayle fired off in response putting them up to 43 for 0, four overs in. Missing star Mustafizur Rahman, Sunrisers found a new start to anchor off in Rashid Khan, the legspinner from Afghanistan, who put the brakes on the run chase with paced legbreaks and wrong’uns – claiming two in his IPL debut match.
RCB Make a bad turn
With Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers missing, having also lost Mitchell Starc and having let go of Chris Jordan, the selection of the runners-up was going to be interesting. They tried to emulate the champions, going for three left-arm quicks, but they got them on against a batting line-up that relies on three big left-hand batsmen. All three of Warner, Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj boast better strike rates against left-arm quicks than their overall career numbers. Despite Tymal Mills’ impressive debut, there was only one winner here. In all, the Royal Challengers left-arm quicks bowled 38 balls to the left-hand batsmen for 78 runs, including some sumptuous hitting from Yuvraj against the two IPL debutants, Mills and Aniket Choudhury.
Yuvraj and Henriques tee off
One of the under-rated players in Sunrisers’ triumph last year, Henriques batted effortlessly at No. 3 after Warner fell against the run of play. Even though Dhawan struck at a potentially damaging strike rate of 129 over 31 balls, Henriques didn’t let the momentum stall. And when he met Yuvraj in the middle, Royal Challengers had to face some carnage. Yuvraj had one of his nights where everything he hit went. The highlight of his innings was when Mills, one of the best at the slower legcutter, found him waiting for that very delivery. Yuvraj proceeded to send it sailing over midwicket for a six. Ben Cutting provided the final touches with two sixes in the last over, bowled again by Shane Watson.
Cutting, Rashid, Hooda drag Royal Challengers back
After yet another ominous start from Gayle, Cutting began the comeback for Sunrisers. He first gave Gayle what no one else had: a bouncer. Then came the offcutter, the delivery that had dismissed Gayle in the final. A wide yorker made an appearance. Despite just a five-run fifth over, Royal Challengers had had the first win. They had made Rashid bowl in the first six: in bowling 546 balls in T20Is, Rashid had bowled only one over inside the front six. Rashid, though, rose to the challenge, and bowled Mandeep Singh in trademark fashion: bowled with a straighter delivery, making it 14 of his 40 right-hand victims bowled. Now the World T20 final repeated itself. Warner went to the part-time offspinner in Deepak Hooda – remember Joe Root? – and Gayle holed out to long-off after hitting one six.
Cutting, Rashid, part II
Kedar Jadhav and Travis Head, though, kept Royal Challengers alive with a 56-run partnership in 5.1 overs. With 93 required in 8.3 overs, the asking rate was still in check, especially with Watson still in the shed. This is when Jadhav attempted an ambitious second only to find an effortless and flat direct hit from fine leg. Cutting had once again dragged Royal Challengers back. Rashid now repeated his second-favourite dismissal, the wrong’un to the left-hand batsman, as Head top-edged a slog sweep. Against the quality of Sunrisers’ attack, Watson alone was always going to be one man too few, and they fell short by 35 in the end.
