IPL 7 RCB vs SRH, Highlights: AB de Villiers' Unbeaten 89 Delivers Sensational Victory for Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets. Follow highlights here: (Scorecard | Commentary | Schedule | Points Table)

AB de Villiers, Man-of-the-Match: It was one of those nights when things go your way. My dad said the other guys are just lucky and I thought I was lucky tonight. It is a bit of a combination of things but Sten bowled well in the first over but the last went my way. We have a wonderful team spirit and that is the kind of thing that I keep in mind. Yuvraj kept me calm and it is not just about the guy who clears the boundary. The crowd in Bangalore is unbelievable. I love playing in this city.

 

That's the end of this game. It's a double-header on Monday. Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad followed by Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings in Delhi.

 

Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain: AB is the best player in the world, by far. He has shown it every now and then and again tonight why he is the best. You need someone to go out and put up a strong performance. AB's was one of the best T20 innings I have seen. It was a below par score on a Bangalore wicket - the bowlers did a great job again. We were again in a bit of a spot today. Gayle got us off to a decent start but AB got us a fantastic win.

 

Shikhar Dhawan, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain: You can't help it when someone plays a knock like that - AB changed the game totally. The wicket did not play the way it usually does. It was slow but we still thought we were 15 short. We started well with the ball but AB played an amazing innings.

23:42 IST: Royal Challengers Bangalore won by four wickets. They were down and out for the count, reeling at 6/2 after two overs and then tottering at 95/5 in the 15th when Yuvraj Singh departed. However, AB de Villiers was in a different zone tonight, smashing sixes off every bowler that ran into him and he spared no one, not even Dale Steyn, the fastest bowler in the world. With the equations loaded in favour of SRH despite de Villiers' onslaught, Steyn came on to bowl the 19th and he was taken to the cleaners by AB, who clobbered three sixes and a four to take 24 off the penultimate over and virtually close the door on the Sunrisers. It was a one-man show all through despite a few nervous moments in a great last over by Irfan, who stretched the game despite having only four to defend.

 

23:35 IST: FOUR! de Villiers lofts Sten over the off-side. SIX! de Villiers smashes that into the stands and RCB are 152/5 and need four over the last over.

 

23:32 IST: SIX! Steyn has been dispatched for a huge one by de Villiers. Not many can do that to the fastest bowler in the world. SIX! Another one. This is sensational stuff from the South African here.

 

23:30 IST: FOUR! Another one for AB, who has kept the Royal Challengers on course to get 156. They are 128/5 after 18 overs.

 

23:28 IST: Kumar back for his last and FOUR! de Villiers wants to make the most of this over after a sensational over from Steyn.

23:26 IST: What an over from Steyn - just three off it as RCB reach 119/5 after 17 overs.

 

23:21 IST: Dale Steyn back in the attack and he will be up against his countryman, who is on fire.

 

23:19 IST: SIX! AB de Villiers has brought up his 50 off 23 balls and the Royal Challengers are well on track here. They need 40 off the last four overs. RCB 116/5.

 

23:18 IST: RCB are by no means out of this yet. AB smashes Sammy for a FOUR! to keep his side in the hunt.

 

23:16 IST: RCB have been losing wickets but de Villiers greets Sammy back into the attack with a SIX! He has been brilliant in this innings.

23:14 IST: WICKET! Karn Sharma gets his third as Yuvraj holds out in the deep. RCB are 95/4 off 14.3 overs.

 

23:11 IST: Karn Sharma back on and SIX! Yuvraj charges down the track and smashes it over the ropes.

 

23:10 IST: RCB are 89/4 off 14 overs and it's still a stiff task.

 

23:07 IST: SIX! de Villiers hammers Irfan into the stands right after the timeout. There is still some fight left in RCB.

 

23:04 IST: RCB 79/4 and need 77 from the seven overs to win. Strategic timeout.

 

23:00 IST: Another bowling change. Darren Sammy in the attack.

 

22:59 IST: SIX! de Villiers dispatches Ishant over the ropes. What a shot that was. RCB 73/4 off 12 overs.

 

22:56 IST: FOUR! Yuvraj plays it off the hips as Ishant continues to bleed runs.

22:54 IST: RCB are 61/4 after 11 overs with Yuvraj and AB de Villiers in the middle. Ishant Sharma back in the attack after conceding 23 off 2 overs.

 

22:51 IST: WICKET! Karn Sharma gets his second wicket as the leg-spinner gets rid of Rossow. RCB are 59/4 off 10.1 overs.

 

22:50 IST: SIX! de Villiers connects and launches that Irfan delivery into a dust-bin near the SRH dug-out. Halfway through the innings, RCB are 59/3.

 

22:46 IST: Bowling change. Irfan Pathan in the attack as AB de Villiers takes strike.

 

22:45 IST: RCB are 50/3 after 9 overs and they now need the likes of de Villiers and Yuvraj Singh to play a couple of special knocks.

 

22:39 IST: Rossow joined by de Villiers in the middle. Two South Africans together as the required rate climbs steadily for RCB.

 

22:34 IST: WICKET! Karn Sharma gets the big one; removes Chris Gayle who holds out to Darren Sammy in the deep. RCB are in complete tatters, at 38/3 off 6.4 overs.

 

22:32 IST: End of the power play and end of timeout. Time for Karn Sharma to come on.

 

22:29 IST: RCB are 36/2 after the end of the power play and it's a strategic timeout.

 

22:26 IST: FOUR! Kumar continues and Rossouw drives it straight down the ground. Superb shot from the South African.

 

22:23 IST: FOUR! Ishant Sharma into the attack and Gayle goes after him; also thanks to poor fielding from Sammy, Gayle gets some bonus runs. SIX! That is sheer power from Gayle. SIX! Gayle is on fire and he is ready to take on short and fast bowling here. RCB are 32/2 after 5 overs.

 

22:16 IST: Rossouw in the middle with Gayle.

 

22:15 IST: FOUR! Gayle goes after a wide one and hammers it to the fence on the off-side. RCB are 14/2 after three overs.

 

22:14 IST: FOUR! Gayle smashes that down the ground and forces Steyn and the umpire to get out of the way and they did well too. What power.

 

22:12 IST: Steyn will bowl a second over.

 

22:10 IST: WICKET! Kumar is on fire as he gets Kohli for a duck. There is pin-drop silence across the stadium. RCB are 6/2 after two overs.

 

22:07 IST: Kohli joins Gayle in the middle as RCB face a stiff chase tonight.

 

22:06 IST: WICKET! Bhuvneshwar Kumar strikes off his first delivery. Parthiv Patel drags it back to his stumps and RCB are 5/1 off 1.1 overs.

 

22:01 IST: RCB take five off the first over from Dale Steyn. Chris Gayle decides not to get carried off from the word go.

 

Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 155/6 off their 20 overs, thanks to a 49-ball 61 after they were asked to bat by Royal Challengers Bangalore. SRH lost two early wickets when Aaron Finch and Lokesh Rahul departed quickly but a third-wicket partnership of 62 between Warner and Shikhar Dhawan (37) helped the visitors get to a strong total against a side that is clearly struggling with the bat.

 

21:43 IST: WICKET! Warner perishes at last, falling to countryman Mitchell Starc in the last over after scoring 61 off 49 balls.

 

21:39 IST: WICKET! Aaron removes Ojha as SRH reach 149/5 off 19 overs.

 

21:37 IST: SIX! Naman Ojha joins the party but that was poor bowling from Aaron.

 

21:34 IST: SIX! Warner goes into the stands again; Dinda concedes 16 off the over. SRH are 140/4 off 18 overs.

 

21:32 IST: SIX! Low full toss from Dinda and Warner takes full toll to bring up his third fifty of the season. What a year he is having for SRH.

 

21:24 IST: WICKET! Sammy goes for one shot too many but he had to - however he holds out to Starc off the bowling of Patel. SRH 115/4 after 16 overs. RCB are perhaps now sensing that they can try and restrict the visitors to an average total.

 

21:22 IST: SIX! Sammy gets his right leg out of the way and flat bats it into the stands. Brutal shot from the West Indian.

 

21:20 IST: Harshal Patel in the attack after the timeout.

 

21:17 IST: Strategic timeout as the Sunrisers reach 106/3 after 15 overs.

 

21:15 IST: The 100's up for the Sunrisers in the 15th over with Warner and Sammy in the middle.

 

21:14 IST: Chahal back in the attack and Warner greets him with a huge SIX!.

 

21:12 IST: Brilliant comeback over from Dinda, who gives away two runs and takes the wicket of Dhawan. SRH are 93/3 after 14.

 

21:07 IST: WICKET! Just when RCB needed it, Aaron gets them a breakthrough. He peppered in a short and fast to Dhawan who holed out to AB de Villiers in the deep. SRH are 91/3 with seven overs to go.

 

20:59 IST: FOUR! Patel gets the length wrong with a slower delivery and Warner flat bats it straight down the ground.

 

20:55 IST: SRH are 81/2 after 11 overs.

 

20:52 IST: FOUR! Too wide from Aaron and Warner crashes that through the off-side. SRH are 72/2 halfway through the innings.

 

20:46 IST: Change of ends for Aaron, who is now back in the attack. FOUR! But Aaron lands it on Dhawan's strong zone, who was quick to punish the bowler.

 

20:45 IST: Just two runs from that Chahal over. SRH 61/2 after the 9th.

 

20:43 IST: Chahal continues after the timeout.

 

20:40 IST: SRH are 59/2 after 8 overs and it's a strategic timeout.

 

20:37 IST: FOUR! Harshal Patel bowls on the pads and Warner is not going to let those go.

 

20:34 IST: Chahal into the attack and the 50 comes up for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the seventh over. They are scoring at a good rate despite the loss of two early wickets.

 

20:32 IST: FOUR! Dhawan punishes a bad delivery as Harshal Patel gives away nine runs from his first over. SRH are 47/2 after the end of the power play.

 

20:27 IST: Expensive first over from Aaron. SRH 38/2 after 5 overs.

 

20:24 IST: Aaron responds with a yorker outside the off-stump.

 

20:23 IST: No-ball from Aaron. A free hit for Warner.

 

20:22 IST: FOUR! Varun Aaron in the attack and Warner plays a fine shot to get off the mark.

 

20:21 IST: David Warner in the middle with Dhawan. SRH are 29/2 after 4 overs.

 

20:19 IST: WICKET! Rahul plays Dinda away from the body and Gayle takes a sharp catch at first slip. This is a great start for the Royal Challengers.

 

20:17 IST: FOUR! Rahul appearing on his home ground against his home city played a beautiful shot on that occasion. Dinda needs to watch where he bowls to a man in fine form.

 

20:14 IST: Another early chance for Rahul. This time he is in the middle with Dhawan.

 

20:12 IST: WICKET! Starc has done it. He serves Finch with a nasty one, which took the edge on the bat and Parthiv Patel completed an easy catch behind the wickets.

 

20:11 IST: FOUR! Starc strays down the leg side and Dhawan just works it off his pads.

 

20:08 IST: FOUR! First boundary for SRH and Finch; that was sloppy from Yuvraj. SIX! Finch goes aerial now as Dinda gives away 12 from the over. SRH are 15/0 after the second.

 

20:05 IST: Dinda will share the new ball with Starc.

 

20:04 IST: Three of the first over for SRH.

 

20:01 IST: Finch and Dhawan the openers for SRH. Starc with the first over for RCB.

 

19:33 IST: Royal Challengers Bangalore have won the toss and elected to bowl. Two changes for RCB. Rilee Rossouw and Harshal Patel replace Albie Morkel and Yogesh Takawale. SRH have made one change. Ishant Sharma replaces the dropped Amit Mishra.

 

19:29 IST: Toss coming up in a few minutes. Can RCB end their losing spree tonight?

 

Back in their comfort zone of the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, the Royal Challengers Bangalore would be looking to get their Indian Premier League 7 campaign back on track when they host Hyderabad Sunrisers for the first time this season on Sunday.

A home game at the start of the second leg of the IPL-7 after losing three of the five matches in the UAE last month, provides the Virat Kohli-led RCB, runners-up in 2009, just the sort of platform to inject some momentum in their campaign. (Kohli hopes to win more games away from home)

They started off well with two back-to-back victories before falling off with three consecutive defeats. (A big Dhawan knock is round the corner, warns Tom Moody)

Likewise, the Sunrisers, led by Shikhar Dawan, managed to win only two of the five games in the UAE and have failed to make much of an impact despite boasting an array of power-hitters in their ranks. (Bangalore can make comeback in Indian leg: Yuvraj Singh)

Winners in 2009 as Deccan Chargers before coming under new owners, the Sunrisers have provided only glimpses of their all-round ability. Undoubtedly, they possess among the strongest bowling attacks in the IPL with Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar Kumar being outstanding with their pace and movement, backed by the crafty leg-spinner Amit Mishra besides West Indian seamer Darren Sammy. (Kohli reveals how he trains his brain)

In both the matches that they won in the UAE, it was the Sunrisers batsmen, led by Aussies David Warner and Aaron Finch who have been in the forefront, but others, including Dhawan, have not been consistent enough to be noticed.

In fact, the marked inconsistency in their batting has let Sunrisers down this season, but with nine more games still to be played, they have as good a chance as any team to move up the league table.

As for the high-profile RCB, the UAE sojourn has been a humbling experience and their famed batting line-up even caved in spectacularly to 70 all out. It was something that obviously caused acute embarrassment to a team that includes Yuvraj Singh who at Rs.14 crore was the most expensive buy at the auction this year.

The absence of opener Chris Gayle in the opening four games in the UAE-leg did hurt RCB, and though the giant West Indian, who is nursing a dodgy back, played in the fifth match, he is still not fully fit as per his own admission. However, if the 34-year old southpaw is in the mix on the morrow, he could make a difference.

The form of Yuvraj, despite a couple of solid knocks, is still iffy while Kohli himself has not been consistent enough and the RCB have looked to South African AB de Villiers deliver the goods.

RCB are hoping that playing five of the remaining nine league matches at home, will certainly boost their chances of making the play-offs, though there is plenty of cricket to be played before that.

In contrast, RCB's bowling, despite its pronounced orientation towards pace, has been more impressive with the likes of Mitchell Starc, Varun Aaron and Morne Morkel being the spearheads while spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has proved to be an able foil to the fast bowlers. RCB though would be keen that Morkel regains his form as he has leaked runs.

While the dice seems to be loaded in RCB's favour on the morrow, the pre-monsoon showers that have been visiting the city the past few days during late evening could well influence the outcome.