IPL 2020: Hyderabad stays alive in playoffs race with five-wicket win over Bangalore

The win places Hyderabad fourth (12 points), but with a more than healthy net run rate of +0.555, all it needs is a victory over Mumbai Indians on the final day to make the playoffs.

Published : Oct 31, 2020 23:50 IST

Sunrisers Hyderabad's all-round performance catapulted it to the fourth spot in the IPL 2020 points table.

Sunrisers Hyderabad's all-round performance catapulted it to the fourth spot in the IPL 2020 points table.

Sunrisers Hyderabad took control of its IPL destiny by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday. The win places the side fourth (12 points), but with a more than healthy net run rate of +0.555, all it needs is a victory over Mumbai Indians on the final day to make the playoffs.

RCB too has its fate in its own hands, despite letting go of three opportunities to record the solitary win it needs. Monday’s game against Delhi Capitals will be a shoot-out for the second spot.

Chasing 121, Manish Pandey (26, 19b, 3x4, 1x6) and Wriddhiman Saha (39, 32b, 4x4, 1x6) carried SRH to 58 for one in the PowerPlay. But Yuzvendra Chahal broke through in the seventh over by having Manish caught by Chriss Morris running in from long-on.

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The wily leggie then had Saha stumped, before Isuru Udana got Kane Williamson (87/4) to turn a routine run chase into a tense one.

But Jason Holder came up with a 10-ball 26 that contained three maximums, all three on the leg-side and all three on the backfoot. Nineteen runs came off one Navdeep Saini over, releasing all pressure.

Chahal, who had bowled a dream first spell (3-0-13-2) was held back by Virat Kohli, and it was all over one ball into his reintroduction in the 15th over.

Earlier, after being put into bat, the RCB batsmen, Kohli and AB de Villiers included, looked staid and unadventurous -- albeit on a sticky wicket -- and allowed SRH to bowl a whopping 50 dot balls.

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Sandeep Sharma’s splendid first spell (3-0-13-2) pegged RCB back as it scored just 30 runs in the PowerPlay. He rearranged Devdutt Padikkal’s stumps and snapped up Kohli on the drive. It was the seventh time Sandeep had dismissed Kohli in the IPL.

Josh Philippe (32, 31b, 4x4) improvised, with flat-batted strokes and sweeps. But the young Aussie and de Villiers were dismissed in a span of five deliveries, to leave RCB reeling at 76 for four. From there, RCB added just 44 more, with the 27 it scored in the last five overs the lowest by a team batting first this IPL. It couldn't have expected the result to be any different.