IPL 2018: RCB beat SRH by 14 runs, jump to 5th spot on points table

In the 51st match of the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2018), RCB beat SRH by 14 runs to stay alive in the tournament.

In the 51st match of the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018, RCB defeated SRH by 14 runs in a nail-biter and moved to the 5th spot of the VIVO IPL points table. Kane Williamson played a great knock, scoring 81 runs, and Manish Pandey accompanied him but somewhere, de Villiers and Moeen Ali's knock overshadowed it. The suspense only ended in the last over after Williamson fell on the first ball, the match kept swinging in either direction and just when it looked that Williamson's side was closer to seal the victory, RCB swung back in, courtesy, the last two overs by Tim Southee and Mohammed Siraj.

Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and invited Royal Challengers Bangalore to bat first. Bangalore suffered an early loss in the form of Parthiv Patel, AB de Villiers was at his best today, he made his intention clear right from the start. Rashid stunned Kohli. The dominance was oscillating from one side to the other. Dhawan committed a gaffe by crossing the boundary rope after taking Moeen's catch, AB de Villiers and Moeen made their fifties, the bowlers had no respite, Rashid finally got breakthrough, de Villiers and Moeen Ali were back into the pavilion. Sarfaraz and Grandhomme played an important cameo. Chasing the target of 219 runs, Hyderabad had a fine start soon, Dhawan and Hales were dismissed. Williamson yet again played a great knock and Pandey accompanied him but they just fell short of a few runs.

IPL 2018 MATCH 51 RCB vs SRH SCOREBOARD

Here are the squads for both the teams:

Royal Challengers Bangalore playing XI for today's match: Virat Kohli (C), Parthiv Patel (W), Moeen Ali, AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Sunrisers Hyderabad playing XI for today's match: Shikhar Dhawan, Alex Hales, Kane Williamson (C), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Shreevats Goswami (W), Rashid Khan, Basil Thampi, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma.

Sunrisers Hyderabad innings update: Over by over

Over 1: Umesh to start it off for RCB, no run. Just three runs from the over. SRH: 3-0

Over 2: Tim Southee is the new man in. Welcomed with a six. Dot balls. Single to Dhawan. Another six. One run. RCB: 17-0

Over 3: Umesh continues, six.and a four. Swing and a miss. Brilliant catch, Hales is gone for 19. No, the decision is overturned. He is not out. SRH: 28-0.

Over 4: Chahal comes to the attack, just four runs from the over. SRH: 32-0

Over 5: Siraj comes to bowl, gets wacked for six. Two runs. Dropped again. Six to finish the over. SRH: 47-0

Over 6: Chahal is back and soft dismissal of Shikhar Dhawan. Kane Williamson is the new man in. Glanced for four. Dot ball. Bad ball hit for four. SRH: 56-1

IPL 2018, RCB vs SRH: Bangalore, Hyderabad clash to spice up points table

In the 51st match of the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2018), a win for Royal Challengers Banglore will make the race for playoffs even more interesting.

In the 51st match of the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2018), resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will take on already-qualified table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in today's match with their playoffs chances hanging by a slim thread. Captian Virat Kohli has led the team from the front and that resulted in two victories for RCB. After defeating Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab in back to back matches, RCB seems like a rejuvenated unit, while SRH have been the team to beat this season, having won nine matches out of 12. RCB are still struggling at the second last position on the table, while SRH are on top of the VIVO IPL points table with 18 points.

Virat Kohli's RCB has survived the tough season, having lost seven of its 12 matches so far but the recent turnaround has given brith hopes of a possible shot at the playoffs berth provided some other results go RCB's way. RCB is overtly dependant on Virat and South African star performer A B De Villiers. Both of them combined have scored nearly half of RCB's total runs this season but the side needs bigger contributions from the likes of Moeen Ali and Corey Anderson.

SRH, on the other hand, depend quite a lot on opener Shikhar Dhawan (369 runs) and skipper Kane Williamson (544 runs) for inspiration. Williamson has been an exemplary leader, who would look to consolidate the team's top spot and ensure a top-two finish at the end of the round-robin stage. Apart from Dhawan and Williamson, Yusuf Pathan (186), Manish Pandey (189) and Shakib-Al-Hasan (166) have also chipped in at crunch situations for SRH. But what has been truly outstanding for SRH is their diverse bowling attack. The bowlers, led by India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8), have been terrific.

Royal Challengers Bangalore players who might make an impact in IPL today's match (RCB vs SHR): Royal Challengers Bangalore have blown hot and cold this season, but they're getting things together right at the business end. Virat Kohli's team hadn't won two matches on the bounce in their first ten matches. But faced with a do-or-die situation, they've pulled off two magnificent wins in their last two matches; first, they chased down 182 against the Delhi Daredevils, and most recently decimated Kings XI Punjab. The match against KXIP was by far their best one could ask for; the bowler's bowled to a plan, the fielders gave their best in the field, and the openers then scored the runs required. RCB's net run rate improved significantly, and they now need to win their remaining two matches to progress beyond the league stage. Umesh Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have become Virat Kohli's two dependable bowlers. If Yadav is able to knock off the top-order cheaply, RCB will fancy themselves, given the SRH middle-order hasn't been tested too often this season. Chahal has been successful in keeping control over the scoring, while also dismissing key batsmen in the opposition. Kohli and ace South African batsman AB De Villiers are RCB's key players as far as the batting in concerned.

The pair have combined to pile up nearly half of RCB's total runs this season but the side needs bigger contributions from the likes of Moeen Ali and Corey Anderson. Kohli has led from the front with 514 runs in 12 games.