It was a no-show from Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in an IPL match against Bhuvneshwar Kumar-led Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Jonny Bairstow and David Warner slammed quickfire centuries to dent the visitors before the wily off-spinner from Afghanistan, Mohammad Nabi, bowled a dream spell of four for 11 to fashion a thumping 118-run win for the Orange Army at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Chasing a massive total of 232, RCB lost the script very early thanks to Nabi’s variations in pace, flight and spin. The way he outfoxed Shimron Hetmyer to get him stumped by Bairstow and then cleaned up AB de Villiers with a slower one, was a treat to watch.
And, when he finished his impressive spell which included 16 dot balls, Nabi had ruled RCB out of the match at 38 for six in eight overs.
Compounding RCB’s misery was Kohli’s dismissal off seam bowler Sandeep Sharma. The skipper leant into the drive but drilled it straight into the hands of Warner at cover.
This was RCB’s third straight loss and SRH’s second win in three games.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
RCB are a shambles……. #Fact #IPL2019
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 31, 2019
Rcb 🤦🏼♀️☹️
— Danielle Wyatt (@Danni_Wyatt) March 31, 2019
David Warner now has been involved in 10 century stands for the opening wicket in the IPL; the most by any player surpassing Chris Gayle (9).
Both Warner and Gayle featured in 18 100-run stands for any wicket in the IPL; the joint-most by anyone. #IPL2019 #SRHvRCB
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) March 31, 2019
SRH to RCB today. #SRHvRCB #IPL2019 pic.twitter.com/migBVYxKnE
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) March 31, 2019
Year after year, RCB don’t seem to have much clue about bowling balance… do they?! #IPL2019 #SRHvRCB
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) March 31, 2019
death overs take a whole new meaning when RCB are bowling #IPL2019 #SRHvRCB
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) March 31, 2019
Warner 100no after 85 and 69 in first two games. HE IS A MACHINE.
— Peter Lalor (@plalor) March 31, 2019
What a player @jbairstow21 !! This is different level.🔥
— Matty Fisher (@9M_Fisher) March 31, 2019
Mohammad Nabi in the IPL:
Played six matches (3 in 2017, 2 in 2018, 1* in 2019)
Sunrisers Hyderabad won all the six matches#LuckyCharm #IPL2019 #SRHvRCB— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) March 31, 2019
As they say “individuals can win you matches, but team work can win you championships!” Feel for the champion batsman for our country #virat… hope things turn out good for them… #SRHvRCB #VIVOIPL #GameBanayageName
— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) March 31, 2019
Bairstow 114
RCB 113#SRHvRCB #IPL— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 31, 2019
.@RCBTweets clearly struggling with batting as well as bowling. It’s going to be really tough for them to recover from this. The first problem to solve is the opening combination. #SRHvRCB
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) March 31, 2019
SRH – what a unit. Although having a strong team, having played under @TomMoodyCricket and @chinu1501 the planning against opposition is on point. #lPL
— Ravi Bopara (@ravibopara) March 31, 2019
Out-of-syllabus Nabi.#IPl2019 #SRHvRCB
— Suneer (@suneerchowdhary) March 31, 2019
