TATA IPL 2024: Karthik's 83 Overshadowed by Cummins' Heroics in SRH's Win Over RCB

Despite Dinesh Karthik's impressive 83 off 35 balls, Sunrisers Hyderabad emerged victorious over the home team Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 25 runs in Match 30 of the Indian Premier League at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. This match witnessed the highest aggregate total for a T20 game, reaching a remarkable tally of 549 runs.

Hyderabad made a strategic move by bringing in Mayank Markande as an Impact substitute for Travis Head at the beginning of RCB's chase in pursuit of IPL's highest total. Similar to RCB's strategy, SRH also entrusted the first over to spinner Abhishek Sharma. However, just on the fifth delivery of the over, Abhishek Sharma missed a catch opportunity from Virat Kohli, who had hit the ball back forcefully. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took over for the second over, and Kohli managed to clear the leaping short-third fielder for a boundary with a lofted shot, followed by a maximum off the last ball.

SRH reached 76 without any loss after the Power-play, but RCB surpassed that with a score of 79/0, courtesy of their openers' strong performance. Kohli concluded the Power-play by lofting Pat Cummins over his head for a boundary, taking his personal score to 42 off 19 balls, including six fours and two sixes. Du Plessis also contributed significantly, scoring 37 from 17 deliveries with five fours and two sixes. SRH introduced their Impact Substitute, who immediately made an impact. Mayank Markande bowled a well-flighted googly that dipped on off stump, deceiving Kohli as he attempted a slog sweep but missed due to the turn and the slower pace of the ball. With Kohli's dismissal, RCB stood at 80 for 1 after 6.2 overs.

The RCB skipper achieved his fifty in just 23 deliveries, hitting a boundary off the fifth ball of the eighth over bowled by Jaydev Unadkat. Stretching far outside his body, he managed to slash the ball over the short third-man fielder. However, on the following delivery, his straight drive was deflected onto the stumps by Unadkat's fingertips, catching Will Jacks out of his crease and resulting in RCB losing their second wicket.

Rajat Patidar entered the fray and immediately made an impact by smashing his second delivery for a huge six over Markande's head. However, just two legal deliveries later, he attempted another big shot across the line but found the fielder stationed at wide long-on. With this dismissal, RCB reached 111 for 3 after nine overs. Once again, the skipper Cummins struck twice in quick succession, dismissing du Plessis for 62 runs and Saurav Chauhan for a duck. RCB found themselves in a scramble as they lost their last four wickets in a span of just 13 legal deliveries.

Following the departures of RCB's numbers 3, 4, and 5, who scored 7, 9, and 0 respectively, Dinesh Karthik provided a delightful spectacle for the crowd. Teaming up with Mahipal Lomror, he stitched together a partnership worth 59 runs, where Lomror's contribution was limited to just 19 runs. Despite Lomror managing to hit two sixes, Karthik dominated proceedings by consistently finding the boundary from the other end. Cummins returned to bowl the 15th over and dismissed Lomror, who chopped on. With RCB at 187/6 and five overs remaining, Karthik then partnered with Anuj Rawat, adding 63 runs in just 28 deliveries, with Rawat contributing only 8 runs.

In the final over of his spell, T. Natarajan claimed the crucial wicket of Karthik, who departed after a blistering 83 runs off just 35 deliveries. With RCB requiring 44 runs off the last over, Rawat hammered 18 runs, but it wasn't enough as Hyderabad secured a 25-run victory over Bengaluru in a match that saw the highest aggregate total for a T20 game, totaling 549 runs.