Hyderabad came into the UAE leg with slim chances of making it to the playoffs. They became the first team to be eliminated from the 2021 edition after the defeat against Punjab. However, since then, the men in orange have played party poopers. The seven-wicket victory against Rajasthan dented the Jaipur-based team’s playoff chances. On Wednesday, Hyderabad pipped Bangalore by four runs, effectively ending the third-placed team’s Qualifier 1 hopes.
Kane Williamson led from the front in Hyderabad’s only third win of the campaign. The New Zealand skipper made 31, picked up two catches, and ran out Glenn Maxwell. Jason Roy top-scored for Hyderabad and stitched together a 70-run stand with Williamson. The Hyderabad bowling attack was impressive as all five bowlers picked up a wicket each.
For Bangalore, Harshal Patel and Dan Christian played a crucial role in restricting Bangalore to 141. The uncapped medium-pacer grabbed a three-wicket haul, taking his tally to 29 wickets. The Aussie all-rounder, who removed Roy and Priyam Garg, conceded only 14 runs off his three overs. Meanwhile, opener Devdutt Padikkal’s 52-ball 41 and a quickfire 40 from Maxwell went in vain.
Roy, Williamson combine
Hyderabad, put in to bat first, lost Abhishek Sharma early in the powerplay. The 21-year-old, who replaced Wriddhiman Saha at the top of the order, dispatched a full toss for a four and cleared the ropes before falling to George Garton for 13. The early wicket didn’t deter the Hyderabad batters. Williamson beat mid-off and steered the ball to deep square leg for two boundaries in Siraj’s second over. Garton, too, was at the receiving end of some fine stroke play by Williamson.
Roy slowly found his rhythm. He hit fours off Garton, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Harshal. Hyderabad reached 50/1 at the end of the powerplay. The duo kept the scorecard ticking by rotating the strike and occasionally punishing the poor delivery to the boundary. With Hyderabad in control, Harshal cleaned up Williamson. It ended Hyderabad’s highest partnership – 70 from 58 balls – in the UAE leg.
Middle-order slump
The Hyderabad middle-order couldn’t capitalize on an excellent start. Christian clinched the wickets of Garg and Roy in the 15th over.AB de Villiers caught Garg at deep midwicket, while Christian took a sharp return catch to dismiss the Englishman, who sought the third umpire’s help to reverse a caught behind decision against him in the previous over. Chahal put Hyderabad in further trouble after trapping Abdul Samad in front of the stumps.
Saha and Jason Holder failed to up the tempo in the death overs. Bangalore conceded just 34 runs and grabbed three wickets in the last five overs of the Hyderabad innings. Harshal sent Saha and Holder back to the pavilion. Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan added a few runs to the total at the end. The franchise finished on 141/7.
Hyderabad strike back
Bangalore’s run chase got off to a poor start as they lost three wickets before the halfway mark. Virat Kohli was dismissed for LBW in the opening over. They lost the second wicket after Christian skied the ball to Williamson at mid-off. Wicketkeeper-batsman K S Bharat, who struck a six and a four off Siddarth Kaul, became Umran Malik’s maiden wicket in the Indian T20 League. Bangalore reduced to 38/3 in seven overs.
Malik heaped pressure on Maxwell and Padikkal with a few dot balls. The Aussie went after Rashid in his first over, but Malik continued to keep the duo at bay. The asking rate remained at eight despite Maxwell scoring some quick runs. A direct hit from Williamson broke the 54-run partnership. Padikkal tried to take a quick single, but Williamson, who was at extra cover, threw the ball to the striker’s end. Maxwell was well short of the crease.
A tense finish
Maxwell’s departure brought another big-hitter, De Villiers, into the middle. However, Padikkal holed out to Samad at deep midwicket for 41. Bangalore needed 29 runs from three overs. The new man Shahbaz scored two fours in Malik’s final over, which yielded 11 runs. Holder removed Shahbaz and gave away just five runs in the penultimate over of the match.
Bhuvneshwar began the final over with a dot ball. Garton returned the strike to De Villiers in the next delivery. The former South Africa captain, who rejected a single in the third ball, cleared the next one above the bowler’s head for a six. But he could only manage just one run in the next two balls. The Hyderabad dugout celebrated the four-run win. They will face Mumbai in their last game, while Bangalore square off against Delhi.
Hyderabad 141/7 in 20 overs (J Roy 44, K Williamson 31; H Patel 3/33, D Christian 2/14)
Bangalore 137/6 in 20 overs (D Padikkal 41, G Maxwell 40; U Malik 1/21, S Kaul 1/24)
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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