RCB’s valiant showdown against the impossible falters in the final hurdle

A boatload of records tumbled at Chinnaswamy last night and yet somehow the last laugh wasn’t ours. In a run-fest like never before that witnessed most runs scored in a single T20 match officially, RCB fought SRH down to the wire only to be denied glory in the dying embers of the contest.

Winning the toss, RCB opted to bowl first. It was a sturdy start for the visitors as Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head rocked and rolled their way through the RCB bowling unit like a fireball through skittles. Head blasted a 41-ball-century while Heinrich Klaasen smashed a 31-ball-67.

Despite a brace from Lockie Ferguson, it wasn’t enough for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru as they were handed a target of 288 at the end of 20 overs, with SRH’s 287 also the highest total in the history of IPL.

RCB started on a feisty note as two of their most experienced campaigners, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli went after the bowlers with their tails up. VK was slightly fortunate as he was dropped by Abhishek Sharma in the very first over but he made that lifeline count.

The duo of du Plessis and Kohli piled up 80 runs from just 36 balls before Mayank Markande sneaked one through the defences of Kohli (42). Will Jacks (7) found himself unfortunate as he was run-out at the non-striker’s end after Faf’s drive down the ground took a deflection off Unadkat and went onto hit the stumps.

A collapse followed for the hosts, consuming Faf du Plessis (62), Rajat Patidar (9) and Saurav Chauhan (0), leaving RCB wobbling at 122/5. For the ones who felt that the death knell had already been rung for the hosts, they were in for a rude awakening as the Finisher Supreme still remained.

Dinesh Karthik took over the reins, bid his own sweet time before blasting on all cylinders. Using his 360 strokeplay, he left the visitors stunned, rocking and rolling into every nook and cranny of the park.

Despite getting a good start, Mahipal Lomror couldn’t convert it into a big knock as he toppled for 19 from just 11 balls. With Anuj Rawat coming on as an Impact Player, DK went after the bowlers. In fact his magnificence featured the longest six of IPL 2024 as he launched one for 108m, leapfrogging the burly likes of Heinrich Klaasen, Venkatesh Iyer and Nicholas Pooran.

Karthik almost steered an impossible fight into the 19th over, keeping the slimmest of hopes alive only to be undone by T Natarajan’s outgoing delivery. Rawat did strike a handful in the final over but the damage was already done by then. RCB fell short of the finish line by an agonizing 25 runs but this one battle will be a journey to savour.