De Villiers-inspired RCB beats SRH, keeps itself afloat

AB de Villiers top scored for Royal Challengers Bangalore with 69 and took a stunning one-handed catch to inspire his side to a 14-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Virat Kohli (left) and Kane Williamson at the toss. Photo: Sportzpics/IPL

 

TOSS UPDATE: Sunrisers Hyderabad wins toss, chooses to bowl.

One change for SRH: Bhuvneshwar Kumar makes way for Basil Thampi.

No change for RCB.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Kane Williamson (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Alex Hales, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Shreevats Goswami (wk), Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli (c), Parthiv Patel (wk), Moeen Ali, AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.

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It's another do-or-die battle for Royal Challengers Bangalore when it faces table-topper Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Virat Kohli & Co. will can claim a playoff spot only if it wins this match and its next, which will take it to 14 points. Its net run-rate (currently +0.218) will be an advantage only if it manages to do this. Naturally, the team is "desperate."

For Sunrisers, though, this match serves as a warm-up for the next round or as a laboratory for experiments. It would want to win this match not only to keep its momentum intact but also to cement the top spot, thereby keeping Chennai Super Kings from leapfrogging it to the top.

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