Image Credit- BCCI
Sunrisers Hyderabad broke their own record earlier in the season to score the greatest IPL total of 287 for 3, demonstrating just how brutal modern T20 batting can seem.
Prior to the T20 World Cup, Travis Head, who has helped Australia win the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup final in the past year, issued another cautionary note to his rivals. On March 27, he had hit 62 off 24 balls for Sunrisers as they made 277 for 3, but against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he smashed a career-high 102 off 41.
The hits were tremendous and continuous. Out of a Sunrisers total of 22, Head smashed eight sixes and Heinrich Klaasen hit seven in a 31-ball 67, setting another IPL record. On a fantastic day for hitters, the RCB did their part as well, smashing 16 hits over the boundaries of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in an outstanding attempt to limit the damage to their net run rate. With Dinesh Karthik leading the way with 83 from 35 balls, they ended on 262 for 7.
The highest match total in T20 cricket history was 549 runs.
There was not a single frontline spinner for RCB before the game. However, they started with the off-spin of batting all-rounder Will Jacks, as the Sunrisers opened with two left-handers, Head and Abhishek Sharma. In the opening over, he found turn and gave up just seven runs. He went for just four in his second over, which was even better.
Nevertheless, the Sunrisers scored 76 runs during the powerplay, which was their third score of more than 70 runs in that part of the game this season. Head had already reached his half-century off 20 balls by that point. Head smashed four sixes in the fifth and sixth overs, dismissing RCB rookie Lockie Ferguson for eighteen and Yash Dayal for twenty.
Head reached the century in the twelfth over, and his second fifty came up even faster, needing only 19 balls. Halfway through the thirteenth over, Ferguson had Head ballooning a catch to mid-off; but by then, Klaasen had arrived, and SRH already had 165 on the board.
After the openers thrashed 108 in 8.1 overs, Klaasen was promoted to No. 3 and continued the Sunrisers’ celebration. After managing just three runs from his opening five deliveries, he quickly found his six-hitting rhythm, which has elevated him to the status of one of the most potent T20 batters in the world. Just before Head was removed, he hit Dayal and Ferguson for sixes over midwicket, and that wicket did little to slow down Klaasen’s aggression.
With three overs remaining and Sunrisers on 231, Klaasen smashed three more sixes, including a 106-meter straight hit off Ferguson that flew over the roof. All that remained to be seen was if they could surpass their own record total of 277. With magnificent cameos, Abdul Samad and Markram dispelled worries, as the final two overs yielded 46 runs.
Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis counterattacked their way to 79 in the powerplay, three more than Sunrisers had achieved at that point. There was only one way for RCB to bat in their comeback. Only in that phase did RCB’s opening duo smash 11 fours and 4 sixes. However, RCB was still behind the asking rate, which had increased to about 15.
Following the powerplay, Mayank Markande, who had replaced Head at the beginning of the chase, beat Kohli with a googly. This started a mini-collapse for RCB, as by the conclusion of the 10th over, they were 122 for 5, with Pat Cummins striking twice, including getting du Plessis for 62.
Karthik then came on stage to delight the audience. He and Lomror shared a powerful partnership of 59 runs, raising hopes of an unlikely finish for a brief while, but Markande and Jaydev Unadkat conceded 46 runs in the 13th and 14th overs.
RCB’s hopes were virtually dashed with a six-run 15th over from Cummins, which also saw the removal of Lomror. However, Karthik persisted, hitting at least one six per over until he was removed with eight balls left. Despite hitting seven sixes, including a switch-hit off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he was unable to stop RCB from losing for the fifth time in a row and dropping to the bottom of the points table.