RCB fight till the end, but go down to Sunrisers in the eliminator

It was a case of so near yet so far for RCB. So near to an epic comeback. Yet the journey in Dream11 IPL 2020 seems to have ended miles and miles before the destination. On a track which surprised everyone, fooling with its slow nature covered by a generous coating of grass, the Sunrisers Hyderabad were only a few limping steps ahead of RCB.

More than the incredible performances which often tend to be the central narrative of a T20 game, the eliminator between RCB and SRH produced and exhibited a more nuanced version of a berserk version of the sport. Where batsmen struggled, the bowlers dictated the tempo of the game, and it was a game that went back and forth over the three hours.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore, having been put in to bat struggled initially. The ball felt as if it had a surface of glue on it - it slowed down before reaching the bat, and it almost gave a sense of adhering to the bat for a fraction of a second. Run-scoring was not easy from ball one. Jason Holder made complete use of the conditions initially, extracting full life out of the green surface. An initial burst of hostile fast bowling by the West Indian resulted in a non-performance from RCB’s 2 top-scorers of the season, Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli.

The innings limped from then on. The experience of Aaron Finch and AB de Villiers tried to resurrect the innings. A 41-run stand brought RCB back into the game, but once Finch was back in the hut, the innings lost its steam. AB de Villiers did his best as wickets kept falling around him. A half-century, one of the more fluent innings of the evening on a surprisingly sluggish track dragged a stuttering RCB to a score of 131.

The defense of a smallish total needed early wickets, and Mohammed Siraj provided just that. The wicket of Sreevats Goswami in the very first over was just the kind of boost the team would have needed. Saini and Siraj bowled tight lines in the powerplay, SRH not allowed to run away with the game. Warner cracked a couple of boundaries, but Siraj came back strong. One of the stories of the season for RCB has been Siraj - putting up one inspirational performance after another. Siraj showed his mettle, cramping Warner for room, and getting the dangerous Aussie opener within the powerplay. 

A few eyebrows may have been raised when RCB picked 4 spinners in their lineup on a pitch that appeared green on the surface. But, contrary to popular belief, the move paid huge dividends. The pressure was well and truly on, the screws were tightened in the middle overs, Yuzvendra Chahal and Adam Zampa bowling over after over in a masterclass of leg-spin bowling. By the time the spell was over, RCB had a foot in the door. With 5 overs to go, the required rate had touched 9. Given the conditions, the game was far from over.

For the Sunrisers, the experienced duo of Kane Williamson and Jason Holder did not panic, waited for the perfect moment to latch on to. A couple of sixes by Kane Williamson at crucial junctures kept the SRH innings ticking. Despite the grit shown by the RCB bowlers at the death, it was just a yard short on the day. The dream of IPL 2020 for RCB is sadly, over.