IPL 10, Match 1, Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore - 5 Tracking Points

The much awaited 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) got underway with the defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad taking on the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The visiting RCB side were a depleted unit playing without the services of their top two batsmen – Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Shane Watson was the stand in skipper on the day.

On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad were a happy unit with a big pool of players to pick from. RCB skipper Watson won the toss and opted to bowl first. Tymal Mills made his IPL debut for the RCB team and for the SRH, it was Afghanistan youngster Rashid Khan who made his tournament debut. The Sunrisers got off to a flying start with David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan hitting the straps right early on in the innings.

Despite the departure of Warner, run flow did not cease. Moises Henriques and Dhawan shared 74-run stand for the second wicket. Dhawan missed out on his fifty but Henriques reached the milestone. It was a blitzkrieg fifty from Yuvraj Singh that followed and the Sunrisers posted a total of 207/4 in their 20 overs.

Here are the 5 tracking points from the SRHvRCB encounter:

1. Dhawan-Henriques set it up at the top

The Sunrisers Hyderabad started off on a high with their skipper Warner smashing a six and two fours first up. However, Aniket Chaudhary dismissed the danger man in the 2nd over. In walked Moises Henriques to join Shikhar Dhawan at the crease. The RCB unit hoped that they were out of danger but were definitely wrong in thinking so. Both batsmen batted freely and kept the run flow going.

The managed to maintain the run rate and posted 59 in the powerplay. The two players added 74 runs for the second wicket. The partnership was broken when Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed on 40 that came off 31 balls with 5 fours. Henriques then went on to add another 58 runs with Yuvraj Singh for the 3rd wicket. Henriques batted very well for his 37-ball 52 with 3 fours and 2 sixes.

2. Yuvraj Singh slams his fastest fifty

Yuvraj Singh put on a display of some brilliant powerhitting on the day. He hit a 23-ball fifty that gave the late impetus to the SRH innings. His effort was his fastest fifty in the history of the tournament and certainly the audiences got a glimpse of vintage Yuvraj on the day. He was eventually dismissed on 62 that came off just 27 deliveries studded with 7 fours and 3 sixes.

The most exciting aspect of his knock was the way he did not let any of the RCB bowlers settle. Tymal Mills, who was very impressive with the ball, was read perfectly by Yuvraj who hit a six and a four off his bowling. Commentator Kevin Pietersen went on to say that he had never seen a batsman read Mills so well. However, the blitz ended and Mills had the last laugh. Yuvraj was bowled in an attempt to clear his front leg out and go over the covers.

3. RCB openers take heavy toll in the powerplay

There were a lot of permutations and combinations going around for the opening slot of the RCB line up. There were speculations that skipper Shane Watson might open the innings along with Chris Gayle. However, the think tank went ahead with Chris Gayle and Mandeep Singh as their openers in the run chase. The move worked as both batsmen gave a rollicking start to the team. They added 52 runs in just 34 balls before the partnership was broken by Rashid Khan.

It was Mandeep Singh who was dismissed in the last over of the powerplay on 24 that came off 16 deliveries. He hit five boundaries during his stay at the crease and looked good for more. Meanwhile, Chris Gayle plundered 32 runs off 21 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes in the match. The thing that did not work for the Royal Challengers was the fact that both the openers were dismissed within 6 deliveries and two new batsmen had to do the job of rebuilding the innings.

4. Debutants make merry – Rashid Khan impresses

Coming in to the match, a lot of eyes were glued to the newbies on the blocks. Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan made the news by becoming one of the only two Afghan players to have earned an IPL contract. He was introduced in the attack early on during the RCB innings. He struck gold in the very first over as he got through the defenses of Mandeep Singh. Singh had got a decent start and was looking set for a good score. Rashid provided the first breakthrough for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Later in the innings, he scalped another wicker when he dismissed another dangerous looking Travis Head. Travis Head had got a good start in the match and had some of the hopes of the RCB fans for a brief while. He was dismissed on 30 off 22 deliveries. Rashid was slightly expensive but certainly did impress in the match. He returned with figures of 2/36 in his four overs. Earlier in the match, RCB pacer Tymal Mills also made his debut. Mills was not easy to get away with and bowled tight lines up front. He leaked only 12 runs in his 2 overs in the powerplay. He eventually ended with figures of 1/31.

5. RCB crash like ten pins and Cutting edge impact

Despite a stunning start to their innings, the RCB batsmen failed to capitalize on it. They definitely missed the services of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in the match. The top five batsmen in the batting order managed to score in excess of 20 runs each but none could breach the 40-run mark. Once the SRH bowlers ran through the middle order, the RCB lower order were not resistant enough.

Also, another impactful player in the match was Ben Cutting. A stunning throw from Cutting came in from the fine leg boundary that stunned Kedar Jadhav. Kedar was looking solid for the RCB and Cutting’s throw cost the RCB team dearly. Earlier in the match, Cutting had played a cameo of 16 off 6 deliveries.