Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Review: Why SRH’s 201 Was Never Safe at Chinnaswamy

The surprise of the Royal Challengers Bangalore chase in game 1 of IPL 2023 wasn’t just that they chased down 202 but the way Sunrisers Hyderabad made 201 feel so small. The RCB achieved the target with six wickets in hand after scoring 203 runs for four wickets, in just 15.4 overs. The first game of the IPL 2023 season ended with a clear statement by the RCB.

For periods of time during the innings, SRH looked very much like they were going to be competitive. Ishan Kishan scored 80 runs off of 38 balls, Heinrich Klaasen hit 31 off of 22, and Aniket Verma blasted 43 runs off just 18 deliveries. On the scoreboard alone, 201 runs for nine wickets should have held huge significance.

So, why did it not feel that way at all? The main reasons are in the manner in which SRH batted (early in the innings; too many free runs at the end), and how Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal made it seem like the chase carried no weight whatsoever.

This particular evening was not an instance of a team putting together a massive innings then being met with a tremendous run chase. SRH created a large score, however they did it while being on very shaky ground, and the bowlers of SRH seemed to be looking for a path they could use.

SRH Were Fixing the Innings

The final score was 201; however, the first five overs paint a much more critical picture. SRH were at 1 wicket for 18 runs, then slipped to 2 for 23 before losing their third wicket at 3 for 29 after Jacob Duffy accounted for Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Given that RCB scored a total of 76 in the same five overs, the fact that SRH had experienced early setbacks showed clearly that SRH were batting in something very close to recovery mode instead of holding the upper hand.

That is the reason why it is important to look at the innings of Kishan in 2 different layers. From a technical perspective, the shot-making during the innings was very impressive. The innings was an entire rebuilding effort when the innings was left in tatters by the 14th over – SRH had slipped to a lowly 57-5 before rebuilding with a 97-run partnership between Klaasen and Duffy, pulling SRH from a state of instability to one of respectability.

Unfortunately, despite the ambitious efforts of Klaasen, who scored a fortunate 31 runs, as well as the brief contribution of Salil Arora, both coming during the final few overs of the innings, and the unfortunate dismissal of Ishan Kishan at 155-6 during the 16th over, SRH had a difficult time reaching the final score of 201, as their innings suffered repeated chances at a successful finish. Teams that continually rebuild are rarely able to fully realize the potential of an easy-ended score built upon a night filled with runs.

RCB Had the Stronger Bowling

Despite RCB’s final score allowing them to be credited with 220, RCB’s bowling performance in limiting SRH to 201 must take precedence over that final total. RCB’s Ryan Duffy achieved the best bowling figure of the match, returning figures of 3/22 from his four overs, as he bowled well and picked up the three biggest wickets of Satheesh, Aniket Verma and Harsh Dubey, when they needed to build a huge score through the last four overs of a match in Chinnaswamy Ground.

Phil Salt added to that factor by taking three catches during SRH’s innings, including the catch to remove Kishan when he was at his strongest. With Kishan’s dismissal, SRH lost their opportunity to build a large enough score that could have produced a knockout punch. Whether or not an earlier opportunity exists during an innings, we will see if the teams are able to maintain that chance with any level of control.

The score breakdown shows the total 201 was smaller than that. SRH went from 126-4 in the 14th over to 155-6 in the 16th over, finishing with a score of 201-9. While Aniket provided a large portion of the closing runs, he did nothing to provide any level of consistent control or resourcefulness.The difference between the two sides was evident throughout the match and ultimately played a large part in the outcome. To be able to call Suresh Raina the top run-scorer in a losing effort shows just how badly the RCB suffered at the hands of the SRH side.

Extras and Bowling Discipline

The scoreboard had a sneaky little number – 18 extras – when RCB began their chase. It meant SRH gave away an extra 18 runs in total due to errors by their bowlers. Seven wides, nine byes and two leg byes gave the batting unit of the RCB only 185 runs to score instead of 202 runs. The role of the batting group was thus significantly less difficult than were the RCB getting 202 runs on the board through hard work.

Then you can look at the bowling performance of the RCB bowlers. Harshal Patel gave away 39 runs from 2.4 overs. Eshan Malinga gave away 35 runs from two overs. David Payne and Harsh Dubey were equal at 35 runs apiece after three overs. At no time did SRH manage to close down the RCB scoring at one end of their bowling attack and force the RCB to earn their runs under pressure by squeezing runs in the square.

Daniel Vettori also commented that SRH’s bowling unit lacked discipline. He was spot on with that statement. The SRH bowling unit was not beaten by one brilliant over. Rather, they became fatigued from the loose lines, free runs and bowling-fielding combination that never put RCB into a position of having to panic and play desperate cricket.

Kohli and Padikkal Broke It

While the chase did begin with a fall of a wicket, SRH did not have to wait long before they were again hit hard by the bat of Kohli and Padikkal, as they together scored 101 runs in 45 deliveries and challenged SRH’s ability to successfully defend their wickets.

Padikkal’s innings of 61 runs off of 26 balls truly exemplified the difficulty that the SRH bowling unit encountered when attempting to bowl to both Kohli and Padikkal with their very different rhythm.He struck seven boundaries and four sixes, dominated the spin bowlers early on, and punished any fast-bowling deliveries that fell within his hitting range. A left-handed batsman such as this, who can hit through the cover and mid-wicket areas of the field, can destroy a team’s bowling strategy in about ten minutes. This is precisely what Padikkal accomplished.

Kohli’s 69 runs not out off 38 balls provided a secure ground on which to build the chase. Kohli didn’t take his foot off the pedal when Padikkal was going crazy; he also was hitting at the same pace. He hit five boundaries and five sixes, and he never backed down from the pressure until the end. This is why the innings felt so cold for SRH. RCB did not swing away blindly; they had a good idea of the chase long before the scoreboard indicated it was over.

Then came Rajat Patidar’s impact. His 31 runs off 12 balls raised the required run rate into insane territories, and the brief wobble that David Payne caused with his two wickets fell away on the first ball of the next over. Tim David finished with 16 off 10 balls, and Kohli remained unbeaten as RCB finished the match in 15.4 overs.

The Match Broke Early

Some observers will look at the total runs scored and see that SRH only lost in the chase, but that doesn’t take into account the real fracture in the match, which came during SRH’s first innings when the team was at 29 runs for three wickets, which caused Kishan and Klaasen to get into repairing mode, and that crack widened even further with Kishan’s wicket and the four overs still left in the innings. The difference between the 201 scored by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and a truly scary 201 was highlighted in the two totally different approaches to each inning, and ultimately how each team played throughout their respective matches.

While RCB struggled through their 201 with several breaks in the flow of the match, colapses seemingly at every turn and ultimately no clean finish to the inning, SRH on the other hand, approached their chase of 202, beginning with a powerplay of 76 runs and then built up a partnership of 100 runs in 45 balls, and spent almost no time looking worried about their ability to achieve the run total of 202.

For this reason, when SRH achieved the 201 score before the 10-over mark of their chase, this is why the 201 run total will not be viewed as “safe”. Safe scores in T20 matches, or matches that carry significant runs in a scoreline, always have scoreboard pressure attached to them, as well as emotional pressure associated with achieving the score. However, SRH only had the scoreboard pressure on them during the RCB chase, while RCB removed all of the emotional pressure from the match before the official halfway point into the match had been reached.

RCB’s New-Age Calm

A second element to this win for RCB, which should be frightning among the rest of the league, is that RCB did not approach the chase of 202 as a response to having struggled throughout the course of the IPL, to being a newer version of themselves, that constantly has had the past 11 IPL’s on their backs while attempting to gain respect as a legitimate contender for the IPL trophy. They were like a team that has not only experienced great amounts of pressure throughout their season as well as having experienced a great deal of conifdence in their respective batting order, that has enough depth to fight through challenges and have experience on what kind of tempo/dimension of the pitch that the RCB needed to maintain at the specific venue.

Duffy provided that opportunity with his essential contributions to creating the tempo of the match. Likewise, Salt provided a few sharp pieces of fielding before Padikkal changed the shape of what the run chase would be. Patidar kept the RCB in the middle overs of the match without any ups or downs and then Kohli finished it all off with a show of authority that can turn the loudest crowd into a training drill. The way that this lineup spread their lion’s share of work, over a long season, allows for several benefits moving forward. The outcome of this match now stands as the fastest successful chase of 200 or more runs in IPL history.This may seem melodramatic, and it should be. Such records are not achieved through a few lucky performances or exceptional circumstances, but rather through being the first to identify the weak spots, relentlessly attacking the weak overs, and sustaining that intensity through to the end of the match.

The Numbers That Hit

The Significance for SRH

While there were numerous positives in this match for SRH, the message for them is very clear and somewhat brutal: with an electrical strike rate built into their batting arsenal, the batting armada of Kishan and Klaasen has the ability to accelerate with extraordinary speed, while Aniket provided a dramatic finish. However, having the incredible amount of batting firepower means nothing if consistently needing to be rescued and allowing bowling to gift wrap a chase.

From the standpoint of RCB, this was a brilliant way to begin their season; it was not chaotic but was instead overwhelming with clarity and conviction. Having identified the conditions of the pitch, they were able to eliminate the launch points that SRH had access to and chased down the opposition total with clarity and accuracy. This should send shivers down the spine of any bowling attack that will be facing RCB in the future. At Chinnaswamy Stadium 201 runs + can seem like a huge number, but after the game, it was evident that. Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6 wickets, but the true story of the match was that RCB treated the game like a warm-up lap.