Royal Challengers Bangalores has sealed its IPL 2021 playoffs berth. But, the job is not over yet, as the side eyes, the second spot, which could be threatened by an unpredictable SuRisers Hyderabad.
SRH has pulled it off in the final over, thanks to some brilliant bowling from Bhuvneshwar, as his experience comes into play. It's a four-run loss for RCB, as it has to be virtually contained with a third spot finish. Read full match report here....
OUT! Shahbaz c Williamson b Holder 14(9). RCB 137/6 (20). Batting: De Villiers 19 (13), Garton 2 (3).
Padikkal is the fifth wicket down for RCB, as Rashid dismisses him for 41. However, with ABD out there, it could still be RCB's night. 18 needed off 12.
OUT! Maxwell run out (Williamson) 40 (25). RCB 124/5 (18). Batting: De Villiers 12 (8), Shahbaz 10 (5).
The fourth wicket goes down, as Maxwell is run out for 40. RCB is still under pressure from SRH. 44 needed off 30.
OUT! Maxwell run out (Williamson) 40 (25). RCB 97/4 (15). Batting: Padikkal 36 (46), de Villiers 1 (1).
No harm done, as SRH continues to bowl tight, while RCB is struggling to score. Still anybody's game. 65 needed off 48,
RCB 77/3 (12). Batting: Padikkal 27 (36), Maxwell 30 (28).
RCB loses its third wicket as well, with Bharat being the man to depart this time, for 12 to pacer Malik. RCB is feeling the heat, with the required rate climbing above eight. 90 needed off 66.
OUT! Bharat c Saha b Malik 12(10). RCB 52/3 (9). Batting: Padikkal 23 (30), Maxwell 9 (6).
The second wicket is down too, as Christian has fallen for just a single to pacer Kaul. RCB is under serious pressure, while the SRH pacers have bowled great so far, with lots of dots, thanks to no dew for now. 105 needed off 84.
OUT! Christian c Williamson b S Kaul 1 (4). RCB 37/2 (6). Batting: Padikkal 17 (21), Bharat 12 (7).
RCB is off to a jittery start as well, losing Kohli for a mere five to seamer Bhuvneshwar. SRH is piling pressure, with the ball doing a bit at the moment.
OUT! Kohli lbw b Bhuvneshwar 5 (4). RCB 18/1 (3). Batting: Padikkal 11 (12), Christian 1 (2).
RCB would need 142 to win, which is a fairly chasable total on this surface. Holder is the final man to be dismissed and clearly, SRH has made a mess of its innings.
OUT! Holder c Christian b Harshal 16 (13). SRH 141/7 (20). Batting: Rashid 7 (9).
A couple of more wickets are down, with Samad and Saha departing. SRH has made a mess of the good start by Roy and Williamson. Can it get past 150?
OUT! Samad lbw b Chahal 1 (3), Saha c de Villiers b Harshal 10 (8). SRH 130/6 (18). Batting: Holder 12 (8), Rashid 1 (1).
SRH loses its third and fourth wicket, with Garg and Roy falling to pacer Christian. SRH seems to be succumbing in the latter stages. Can RCB pile pressure hereon?
OUT! Garg c de Villiers b Christian 15 (11), Roy c and b Christian 44 (38). SRH 107/4 (15). Batting: Samad 1 (2).
The second wicket is down, as Williamson is dismissed for 31 by pacer Harshal. However, SRH is still in a decent spot with the bat.
OUT! Williamson b Harshal 31 (29). SRH 91/2 (12). Batting: Roy 41 (31), Garg 3 (2).
Roy and Williamson continue to take the attack to RCB. The tempo is clearly with SRH, for now.
SRH 67/1 (9). Batting: Roy 24 (21), Williamson 27 (23).
No harm done, as Roy and Williamson are taking the attack to the RCB bowlers. SRH finishes high at Powerplay.
SRH 50/1 (6). Batting: Roy 15 (14), Williamson 19 (12).
A shaky start by SRH, as Abhishek has departed for 13 to pacer Garton. However, Rouy and Williamson are here to steady the start.
SRH 23/1 (3). Batting: Roy 1 (2), Williamson 8 (6).
Toss: RCB opts to bowl.
Virat Kohli: We are going to bowl first. We have seen the wicket eases out in the second half. We had a bit of a jolt at the start of this leg. Against Chennai, we could have made a game out of it. We were 15-20 short. Every team wants to qualify with a few games to spare. Having qualified, we would like to back ourselves to deliver when under pressure. Same side for us.
Kane Williamson: Exciting opportunity for us. I think as an environment, we would try to evolve. There is still some focus. There is a lot of enthusiasm, thanks to the youth in the team. We are going with the same side from the last match.
Playing XI
RCB: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian, Shahbaz Ahmed, George Garton, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal.
SRH: Jason Roy, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul and Umran Malik.
Hello and welcome to Asianet Newsable's live coverage of Match 52 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and former champion SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match 52 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. RCB is happy, having qualified for the playoffs for two successive seasons.
However, it is eyeing the second spot, as an already ousted SRH could ruin the bid. With SRH looking to become a party spoiler for the other remaining sides, we present the live updates of this intricate tie.
LIVE SCORECARD: IPL 2021 - RCB vs SRH
RCB is on the third spot of the points table, scripting eight victories from 12 matches and assembling 16 points. SRH has to content itself with a bottom finish, having won a couple off 12 so far and gathering just four points.
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The two teams have met each other on 19 occasions, with SRH holding a lead of 10-8. In the three clashes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), SRH has a charge of 2-1, while the only game in Abu Dhabi witnessed a win for SRH. Yet, judging by the contemporary form, RCB could see this through.
ALSO READ: IPL 2021: Top 5 capped Indian players
The weather in Abu Dhabi is shining and mild, with 36 degrees and 53% humidity. The track would be helping the batters while bowling first is the absolute option upon winning the toss.
Probable XI
RCB: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian/Tim David, George Garton/Kyle Jamieson, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal.
SRH: Jason Roy, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Sandeep Sharma, Umran Malik and Siddarth Kaul.
