Former South African captain AB de Villiers fell for a mere single, but the Royal Challengers Bangalore beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets regardless, in Saturday’s Indian Premier League fixture at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Bangalore stayed at the bottom of the 2019 tournament’s eight-team standings despite the win, while Hyderabad retained fourth position. The Sunrisers remain in contention for a berth in the play-offs alongside the Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, while the Royal Challengers have been removed from the running.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson pushed the Sunrisers to a final total of 175 for seven with an unbeaten 70 from 43 deliveries. His stay featured five fours and four sixes – and largely defied spinner Washington Sundar’s inroads. Sundar was the pick of the Bangalore bowlers, snaring figures of three for 24, which included the dismissals of the dangerous Martin Guptill and Vijay Shankar.
Bangalore’s reply slipped to 20 for three, as De Villiers and openers Parthiv Patel and Virat Kohli shared a mere 17 runs. The ex-Proteas batsman departs this IPL season as the ninth highest run-scorer, with 442 in 13 innings.
Middle-order kingpins Shimron Hetmyer and Gurkeerat Singh ensured that Kohli and company’s collective failure was rectified with 75 and 65 respectively, and were key in ensuring triumph with four deliveries to spare.
Photo: SPORTZPICS for BCCI
