As it happened - Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

A great last two overs by Jason Holder and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but even before that, some excellent work by the bowlers to continuously keep AB de Villiers off strike. He walked in at 14.1 overs, with 35 balls remaining in the innings. When 31 of those 35 had been bowled, AB had been kept to just 9 balls faced. Even the miracle worker can't always pull things off under those constraints. RCB end up on 137 for 6, losing by 4 runs.

Even then, RCB would have got home if it wasn't for the Maxwell run out, you'd think. So RCB stay in third place, and for all practical purposes, that's where they'll end the league phase and have to play the Eliminator, and not Qualifier 1. They could finish level on points with Chennai Super Kings, but there's too much of a net run-rate gap to cover. The result also means Delhi Capitals are officially assured of a top-two spot.

As has happened so often in the past, RCB are looking to AB de Villiers to take them home. With Maxwell getting out, it was on AB anyway, but RCB have also lost Padikkal, who was struggling to get on with it. He's out to Rashid Khan - at least 1 wicket in 10 consecutive IPL games - for a painstaking 41 off 52, which #AskCricinfo will tell you is the second slowest IPL innings of more than 50 balls.

The good news for RCB is, both Rashid and Umran are done. The young 21-year-old quick went for a few in his final over with Shahbaz Ahmed hitting two boundaries. RCB need 18 off the last 12 balls.

Enter AB, Exit Maxi

Stunning work from Kane Williamson at cover to run Maxwell out with a direct hit. Devdutt Padikkal had limply pushed a Rashid googly in that region and called Maxwell through for a single. Williamson swoops, collects and rifles a bullet throw that hits direct. Might have got the batsman out even if it wasn't a direct hit - not the greatest judgement of a run there. Maxwell was looking impregnable. He had taken down Rashid, who Williamson was forced to turn back to with the overs ticking down. Of course, RCB still have one trump card to replace another in AB de Villiers coming in. Sunrisers' whole gameplan has to be focussed now on getting AB before he can get in.

Umran Malik after this Rashid over? Meanwhile, RCB are 92 for 4 in 14.1 overs.

At one end, Umran Malik is sending down cannon-fire with speeds consistently above 90mph (144kph) and touching the 150kph mark too. He's beaten Glenn Maxwell for pace twice. Hit the thigh pad first time. Next one is a bouncer that Maxwell is way too late to pull out of, and flies off the splice to a vacant square leg. And this is a Maxwell who has taken 21 runs off 8 balls from Rashid Khan. He's in that kind of form. And a young kid who had played next to no cricket before this IPL has him hopping. But either side of the Umran overs, Maxwell has taken Rashid apart in a way I don't remember anyone else doing apart from Chris Gayle in IPL 2018. And Gayle had the advantage (however slight) of being a left-hander to a legspinner. The result is that Rashid is off after just two overs. Maxwell is hitting another level. And of course, Umran is (almost) hitting Maxwell.

RCB are 77 for 3 in 12 overs. Win probability 74.3%.

153kph

That's not a typo. That's the fastest ball Umran Malik has bowled tonight - so far. He's got 2-0-6-1 now with RCB 52 for 3 in 9 overs. The last ball he bowled, Maxwell was done for pace, late on the pull as it thudded into thigh-pad. And to think Umran might not have even played in the IPL if Sunrisers hadn't had the opportunity to draft in a replacement when T Natarajan was struck by Covid (Remember that, anyone?).

Danny Morrison makes the point on air that his run-up is very reminiscent of Waqar Younis, and it really is. He's not quite as explosive at the crease as Waqar was - less twisting and hurling of the body - but the effect seems the same anyway, with how quickly the ball's coming out.

It's time for Maxwell (and maybe AB after)

RCB had the right idea in rejigging their batting order, but not all good plans translate into good execution on the field - there's the opposition with plans too. So they might have originally hoped for a good, solid opening stand. Bhuvneshwar put paid to that. Then they hoped for some quick powerplay runs via Dan Christian. Siddarth Kaul took care of that. Then they thought if Bharat and Padikkal could build a partnership, they might take out a couple of Rashid Khan overs at least. The quick Umran Malik has had Bharat caught on the hook to the keeper.

That means even as the powerplay ends, Rashid comes on, and Maxwell is in the middle. And the first ball he faces is slog swept into oblivion. Well not quite that far, but over deep midwicket. Game on. RCB 47 for 3 in eight overs. Their win probability is still 59% because ESPNCricinfo's Forecaster takes into account the quality of the batsmen left.

We're in for a fascinating middle-overs battle where Rashid (and potentiall Umran) face off against Maxwell, Padikkal now, and potentially AB later.

Dan Christian at 3 doesn't come off

RCB had promoted Christian to No.3 last game, and he fell first ball. He lasted a bit longer this time, but is still gone for 1 (4). What could be the thinking behind moving KS Bharat down from No.3, where he had done reasonably well? I can think of two related reasons:

1) In theory, an enforcer batter like Christian allows RCB to use the powerplay more effectively than maybe a Bharat would, and

2) The way RCB have read this, the pitch is going to not be that easy but get better and better as the game goes on. We've already seen some balls holding in the surface even in the second innings. That makes it worthwhile to have Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers coming into the second half of the innings. Hence why even after Christian fell, the No.4 is Bharat.

RCB 25 for 2 in four overs, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar having made the first strike to trap Virat Kohli in front with an incoming ball in the first over.

Yuzvendra Chahal's googlies

Visually, there's seemed more bite to Chahal's googlies in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 than there was in the first half. We've got stats maven Shiva Jayaraman to marry the data to what the eyes see: Chahal's googlies have been far more effective in this IPL leg than they were in India, or even in IPL 2020 in UAE.

Check out the economy rate from the googlies, and the massively lower average than what it was. A Chahal with googlies coming out rippingly is a Chahal that is a treasure for RCB, especially in UAE.

No.29

Harshal Patel has got another wicket, off the final ball of the innings. He's just piling them on like they're on sale or something. Right now, only Dwayne Bravo (32) and Kagiso Rabada (30) have taken more wickets in an IPL season than Harshal. If you want confirmation, you can #AskCricinfo. He's left everyone else behind. Obviously, that also means he's got the most wickets in an IPL season by an Indian. Sunrisers end up with just 141 for 7. That would make RCB favourites heading into the chase.

Harshal Patel's slower balls have been netting him wickets by the jugful. He's up to 28 now for the season. And RCB have at least two more matches to play after this, and likely more than that. His latest victim is Wriddhiman Saha, who gets a lot more height than distance on his lofted cover-drive and is caught beyond the circle. It's an over that went for 10 runs - and incredibly enough 8 of those came off inside-edged fours, one each by Saha and Jason Holder. Harshal has one more over to wreck some damage. Sunrisers are 130 for 6 in 18 overs.

Christian catches a thunderbolt, Chahal provides the lightning

Priyam Garg had done his job in trying to hit out before perishing. Sunrisers had a set Jason Roy and a fresh Abdul Samad at the crease with 5.5 overs remaining. But, as they have done so often this IPL, RCB have been terrific at the back-end of an innings once again.

First, Roy belted a full ball back with the power of Thor, and somehow Dan Christian not only didn't feel the need to get out of the way after bowling it, he got hands to it, juggled it, and caught it.

That was the last ball of the over, and the next ball, Yuzvendra Chahal skidded through a quicker leg-break to defeat Samad's slog-sweep, and catch him in front. The umpire didn't think so, Virat Kohli was at slip so went by what the bowler and keeper said and took the review. Three reds - which incidentally is what Sunrisers' fortunes resemble a bit. They do have Saha and Jason Holder at the crease, so it's not all lost, but how much will they get? Forecaster says 152 after Samad's wicket, which left them 107 for 5 in 15.1 overs.

Wicket No.27 this IPL. His changes of pace have just been so difficult to read for every batsman. In this case, even when it's Kane Williamson. RCB had wrought a middle-overs slow-down and Williamson and Roy knew they needed to launch sooner rather than later with nine wickets in the bag and more than half the innings done. Jason Roy was fortunate - for the second time this innings - in skying a shot in front of the wicket that landed safely when harshal came on. But this IPL's leading wicket-taker is not to be denied. Another off-cutter on a perfect length to move in and defeat Williamson's intended punch on the up. Timber rattled, Sunrisers rattled.

They're 91 for 2 in 12 overs and ESPNCricinfo's Forecaster says their projected score is 163 from here. But that depends on how well Roy is able to helm the back-end of the innings. They'll be relying on him and Abdul Samad for the power, although Samad is still in the dugout with Priyam Garg having come out at No.4.

A successsful Powerplay by SRH

This is only the second time in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 that Sunrisers have scored at more than 7 runs per over in the powerplay. Abhishek Sharma did well to kick things off, Jason Roy has been his usual belligerent self in terms of looking to give the ball a good thwack, but it's Kane Williamson's entry that really speeded things along for Sunrisers, with the skipper, using touch and timing to start very briskly. Sunrisers going along okay after the powerplay too at 61 for 1 in 8 overs, and in Williamson and Roy, they've got a good pair to combat Yuzvendra Chahal - who has been quite fantastic in the IPL's second leg so far. He's started brilliantly has Chahal, with just 3 runs in his first over, and Williamson not quite reading the changes of pace fluently. These middle overs will be crucial.

Kane Williamson vs RCB

That's the battle to look forward to. Individual stats against teams often don't make much sense in the IPL, with bowling attacks possibly altering radically every mega-auction, but in spite of that, Williamson has built some record against RCB. Since IPL 2016 - and before today's game - Williamson has hit five 50s in six innings against RCB. He averages 78.75 and strikes at 143.18 against RCB since IPL 2016. Sunrisers need themselves some more of that today. They're 23 for 1 in three overs and Williamson's already away, with two boundaries in his first six balls.

This is not as radical a move as it might seem, even though Abhishek Sharma has never batted so high for Sunrisers. He has, however, opened in T20 cricket for his domestic side Punjab, and with considerable success too.

While opening for Punjab, he's made 420 runs in 15 matches. He's also hit his only T20 century while opening, 107 off 62 balls against Railways, in January this year. He outscored the entire Railways team in that game, since they were bowled out for 83. He averages 32.30 and strikes at 136.80 while opening, as opposed to 23.65 and 135.16 when he's not opening. [stats before the ongoing game]

It's not quite come off for Sunrisers, though Abhishek had a job to do and tried to do it well. Quiet first over against Mohammed Siraj and he went on the attack in the second over, carting George Garton around, before being caught at mid-on. It's an experiment worth persisting with for Sunrisers' next game.

RCB decide to bowl first

"The pitch seems to settle nicely in the second half, even if there's no dew," says Virat Kohli. Which is why he's bowling. And they're gunning for that top two spot, which is why there are no changes to their XI.

Kane Williamson was going to have a bowl as well. "We do want to improve, there's no doubt about it," he says. And no changes for Sunrisers either.

So both captains reckon this pitch is going to be a good one. Time for lots of runs then. Four days back, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube and co happened at this venue, so it's not surprising that chasing was the preferred option.

I'm also particularly looking forward to seeing how Umran Malik goes against Royal Challengers' power-packed batting line-up, but that'll be for the second half.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Virat Kohli (capt), 2 Devdutt Paddikal, 3 KS Bharat (wk), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Dan Christian, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 George Garton, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Priyam Garg, 5 Abhishek Sharma, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Siddarth Kaul, 11 Umran Malik

What has gone right for him this season?

"Maxwell has succeeded through his own unique methods. In Dubai, he has used reverse hits to use the shorter side of the boundary. In Sharjah, he has used more conventional power as the boundaries are already short. On slower pitches, he feels, you get that extra time to line up the reverse hits.

"This is a mind that is completely original," writes Sid Monga in this superlative piece of where and how Maxwell has been better (far better) than others. It's one of those #mustreads - and has got everything: finessed analysis, Smart Stats made simple, and a hilarious Maxwell anecdote from all the way back in 2015.

RCB's charge towards a top two finish

They are sitting right now at third on the table, with 16 points from 12 games. Not since Chris Gayle's glory days in 2011 have Royal Challengers Bangalore qualified for the playoffs as early as this. They might not have Gayle anymore, but just like Gayle shrugged off so-so seasons elsewhere to land in 2011 and take the IPL by storm, they've found Glenn Maxwell to do that.

Can they finish in the top two? Chennai Super Kings are on 18 points with Delhi Capitals on 20. Those two have only one game left in hand. Including this one against Sunrisers Hyderabad, RCB have two. Their net run-rate is inferior to the top two though. Here's the points table.

As for Sunrisers, they're guaranteed a bottom-placed finish, with only four points and two games in hand. The most they can reach is 8 points, and that'll still leave them below Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings, who have 10, and the possibility of adding more. Playing for pride is as cliched as it gets, but it's still a cricket game, played by world-class cricketers, and they'll enjoy the season rather more if they can sign off winningly. There's also the case for individual players to make sure they are front and centre of franchise minds when the mega auction rolls around next year.