On this day in 2021: Shahbaz Ahmed’s 3/7 helps RCB beat SRH by 6 runs in a thriller
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were looking down and out in a group stage match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. However, an excellent bowling spell from Shahbaz Ahmed helped his team win a thriller of a contest against the Orange Army.
After being asked to bat first, the Red Army, on the back of Australian batter Glenn Maxwell (59 runs) and skipper Virat Kohli (33 runs), managed to post 149 runs, SRH came up with a spectacular bowling performance. West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder (3/30) and ace-spinner Rashid Khan (2/18), were the key performers for SRH.
During the chase, SRH, on the back of Australian opener David Warner (54 runs) and Manish Pandey (38 runs), looked the favourites to clinch the match. However, Shahbaz changed the course of the contest by scalping three wickets in a single over. Skipper Kohli tossed the ball to the left-arm spinner in the 17th over and the talented youngster delivered a vital blow under immense pressure. He claimed the wickets of Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey and Abdul Samad in the same over and was instrumental in RCB winning the fixture by a close margin of six runs.
At first, Shahbaz was signed by the Red Army ahead of the 13th season of the Indian Premier League for INR 20 lakh. However, the all-rounder bagged a massive amount of INR 2.40 crore in IPL 2022 mega auction. Shahbaz had a base price of INR 30 lakh ahead of the mega auction, but after some hefty bidding war with other franchises, RCB managed to bring him in. He has given some crucial performances for his side in the ongoing edition of the league as well.
