IPL 2020 Eliminator: SRH vs RCB Review – Calm Williamson, all-round Holder knock RCB out

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s merry run in IPL 2020 continues as they have knocked out Royal Challengers Bangalore in a low-scoring eliminator. The David Warner-led team will now face Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2 on Sunday (November 8).

Earlier, SRH won the toss and opted to bowl first and then bowled superbly. Jason Holder continued doing a good job with the ball and nipped out Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal early on. Aaron Finch and AB de Villiers then revived the innings but the scoring rate was low for RCB. The latter then took control of the innings to smash a brilliant half-century but the lack of support from the other end led to RCB posting only 131. De Villiers scored 56 off 44 while Finch contributed 32 runs to the total. Holder returned figures of 3/25 while Natarajan also picked two wickets.

The chase was always going to be tricky in a knockout game. Moreover, the RCB spinners came to the forefront with the dew not being a factor anymore. Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj bowled well upfront with the latter sending back openers Shreevats Goswami and Warner. Yuzvendra Chahal and Adam Zampa then bowled with guile and accuracy to concede only 36 runs off their combined 8 overs and picked two wickets.

However, two international captains in Kane Williamson and Jason Holder joined hands at 67/4 in the 12th over and just kept their cool. Williamson, especially, was at his best and made sure to always churn out a boundary whenever the required run-rate went up. Although the chase went down to the last over, SRH always were in control thanks to this duo.

Turning Points

Natarajan picking de Villiers’ wicket: While the world is busy praising Holder and Williamson for keeping their calm in the tricky chase, one shouldn’t forget T Natarajan’s death bowling. SRH were always on the edge given de Villiers’ record in the last five overs. The man was set on the day batting on 56 in the 18th over. But Natarajan didn’t give him an inch at any stage and then delivered probably his best delivery of the season to peg back de Villiers’ middle stump. This led to RCB ending 10-15 runs short which were crucial in the low-scoring game.

Top performers

Records/Personal Milestones

• Aaron Finch completed 2000 IPL runs in this game

Way Ahead

SRH will stay in Abu Dhabi to face Delhi Capitals on Sunday evening while RCB have been knocked out of IPL 2020.