Press Trust of India
Bangalore, April 12: Virat Kohli (75, 51,7×4, 3×6) and A B de Villiers (82, 42b, 7×4, 6×6) shared a breathtaking 157-run stand off 87 balls as Royal Challengers Bangalore secured a comfortable 45-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening match of the Indian Premier League here Tuesday.
Kohli and de Villiers arguably the top two batsmen in the world, set the Chinnaswamy Stadium on fire to take RCB to 227 for four. The bowlers defended the steep total comfortably on a batting beauty despite a blazing knock from Sunrisers captain David Warner (58, 25b, 4×4, 5×6), limiting the opposition to 182 for six in 20 overs.
No total can be called be safe on the batting beauty here and with Sunrisers reaching from 83 for one in eight overs, the game was very much alive. Warner was in his full elements after the departure of his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan (8), who was bowled by Parvez Rasool.
Warner went about his business with little fuss and completed his 50 off 21 balls with a huge straight six off spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. His entertaining innings ended with a mistimed pull off fellow Australian and recently retired Shane Watson.
Seeing the back of Warner was crucial for RCB and soon after his prized wicket, they took three quick wickets to reduce Sunrisers to 101 for five in the 12th over. Needing almost three runs a ball at one stage, Eoin Morgan (22 n o), and Ashish Reddy (32) tried their best but couldn’t succeed.
Earlier, Kohli and de Villiers tore apart the opposition attack with a scintillating stand after the early fall of opener Chris Gayle. Then it was the turn of young Sarfaraz Khan (35, 10b, 5×4, 2×6) to have some fun in the middle. He hammered Bhuvneshwar Kumar for four boundaries and a six in the 19th over to pile on the opposition misery.
Karan Sharma had a forgettable outing in his first match of the season as he went for 57 runs in four overs. Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman (2/26) was the lone positive with the ball for Sunrisers as he impressed on his IPL debut.
