Records tumbled, runs flowed and bowlers were left reeling for pursuing such a merciless profession. It was that kind of Monday (Apr 15) evening at the Chinnaswamy Stadium where Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fell short by 25 runs, attempting to chase a record target of 288, set by SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).
RCB did show flashes of fight which they had been missing in the tournament so far but the fight was not enough to salvage what was a demoralising defeat in front of the anticipating Bengaluru crowd.
ALSO READ | IPL 2024: List of records broken during SRH’s maverick performance against RCB
Part-time commentator and full-time dasher Dinesh Karthik waged a lone battle for RCB at the end, smashing a 35-ball 83 and showing why he remains one of the best finishers going around in the circuit. In an evening that did not have many positives for RCB, it was DK who received a standing ovation from the Bengaluru faithful for his maverick knock.
Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis came off the blocks in red-hot form and showed they were here to achieve the impossible. The duo smashed 79 runs in the powerplay phase and looked set to carry on but Kohli’s fragility against the leg-spinners once again got exposed.
The former RCB captain failed to read a googly from Markande and saw the ball whistle past his bat and into the stumps. Will Jacks, coming in to bat at no. 3 was unfortunate as he was runout on the non-striker’s end after Jaydev Unadkat got a fingertip on the ball hit back to him ferociously by Faf.
The South African did not last long either and departed after a well-made 62-run knock. Rajat Patidar, Saurav Chauhan and Mahipal Lomror could not step up and show their power-hitting credentials as RCB ran out of gas at the end.
Skipper Pat Cummins was the star with the ball as he picked up three crucial wickets with an economy rate below 11 when all other bowlers travelled at a much higher clip.
SRH break all records
Travis Head started the proceedings by smashing a 39-ball hundred which was the fastest for a SRH batter and the fourth-fastest overall. The men-in-orange continued the onslaught courtesy of Heinrich Klaasen and shattered their own record of 277, set earlier in the season against Mumbai Indians.
RCB were sluggish in the field throughout and the bowlers looked devoid of ideas. Skipper Faf failed to arrest the slide and allowed SRH batters to seize the momentum.
Aiden Markram was given a reprieve by Yash Dayal after he got him to hole out at short third man but the replays showed he had overstepped the mark. Another catch was dropped on the last ball of the innings and it perfectly encapsulated the evening RCB had in the field.
The defeat meant RCB’s winless streak continued as they occupied the last spot on the points table while SRH catapulted themselves into the playoffs contention by climbing to fourth with a healthy run-rate.
Highest totals in IPL:
287/3 SRH vs RCB, Bengaluru, 2024
277/3 SRH vs MI, Hyderabad, 2024
272/7 KKR vs DC, Vizag, 2024
263/5 RCB vs PWI, Bengaluru, 2013
262/7 RCB vs SRH, Bengaluru, 2024
257/7 LSG vs PBKS, Mohali, 2023
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