Hyderabad: Sunrisers began the IPL opener where they left off last year as they smashed the Royal Challengers Bangalore bowlers to rattle up 207, one run short of their 2016 title-winning total, much to the delight of a delirious home crowd here on Wednesday night.
Moises Henriques and Yuvraj Singh led the assault with cracking half-centuries to set the Sunrisers’ scorecard on a gallop. The former hit a 37-ball 52 while Yuvi smashed 62 in 27 balls as the hosts made the most of the first use of the wicket after losing captain David Warner in the second over.
It could have been worse two overs later as Moises Henriques and Shikhar Dhawan were involved in a misunderstanding in the middle of the pitch but were let off by poor RCB fielding, which left a lot to be desired. Fumbling with the ball on the ground and in the air pointed to their rustiness barring a brilliant blocking effort on the boundary by Mandeep. Yuvraj was the beneficiary of a butter-fingered act, being dropped by Sreenath Aravind at deep square leg off Aniket Choudhary when he was on 26.
RCB appeared a bit too confused. They had pressed in five bowlers by the sixth over and the seventh in the 11th over.
Skipper Shane Watson was off colour, conceding 41 runs in his three overs without success. Shikhar Dhawan hit him for four boundaries on either side of the wicket as 17 runs came off the Australian’s first over. Watson quickly ejected himself out of the attack and introduced Travis Head but the Sunrisers tail continued to wag.
It was not until the fifth change in the bowling line-up, in the 11th over, that RCB tasted second success. Dhawan stepped out of his crease to smash Stuart Binny in search of his first six but holed out to Sachin Baby at long-on to end his 31-ball 40 that included five strong boundaries.
In walked Yuvraj and out went the ball out of the playing area, with alarming regularity. Two fours and a six off an Aniket over meant the Eagles had taken flight.
Left-arm pacer Sreenath Aravind was then hammered through the off-side and smashed into the stands by Moises and then pummelled by Yuvraj into the second tier of the pavilion.
Moises fell soon though, trying to up the tempo. He went for the big one against Chahal but only as far as Sachin Baby at long-off to end his entertaining innings. Yuvraj’s stumps went flying after he missed a Tymal Mills delivery in the penultimate over.
