Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 16 (ANI): Following his side’s win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a run-fest of an Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Pat Cummins hilariously remarked that he wishes he was a batter.
Carnage from Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen first powered SRH to 287/3, the highest IPL total ever. But later, a brilliant spell from Cummins of 3/43 put a brake on RCB’s remarkable fightback and they lost by 25 runs at Bengaluru on Monday.
Following the win, Cummins said, “I wish I was a batter. Wonderful game of cricket. Amazing scenes. Give me a few more years, please, (on if bowlers will go extinct due to such runfests). Good fun. You try your best. If you bowl an over of seven or eight runs, you can have an impact on the game. I have given up trying to read the wicket. Chinnaswamy looked dry. Really happy. Four wins now. The batters have gone about it having a smile on their faces.”
Coming to the match, RCB put SRH to bat first after winning the toss. A 108-run partnership came between Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma (34 in 22 balls, with two fours and two sixes). Klaasen (66 in 31 balls, with two fours and seven sixes) had a 57-run partnership with Head for the second wicket and a 66-run partnership with Aiden Markram (32* in 17 balls, with two fours and two sixes). Later, a quickfire cameo by Abdul Samad (37* in 10 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) took SRH to 287/3 in their 20 overs.
Lockie Ferguson was the pick of the bowlers for RCB, with 2/52 in four overs.
In the run chase, Virat Kohli (42 in 20 balls, with six fours and two sixes) and skipper Faf Du Plessis (62 in 28 balls, with seven fours and four sixes) put up an admirable 80-run partnership within the powerplay, unfliched by the scoring rate and target.
But a brilliant spell from skipper Cummins (3/43) and Mayank Markande (2/46) reduced RCB to 122/5. Despite that, Dinesh Karthik (83 in 35 balls, with five fours and seven sixes) and Anuj Rawat (25* in 14 balls with five fours) put up a fight, but fell short of 25 runs, ending at 262/7.
With this loss, RCB is at the bottom of the table, with just one win in seven overs. They have just two points. SRH now has four wins and two losses, with eight points. They are at the fourth spot.
Head secured the ‘Player of the Match’ award. (ANI)
