Devdutt Padikkal scored a breezy 61 while Virat Kohli and captain Rajat Patidar chipped in with 69 and 31 as Royal Challengers Bengaluru made short work of the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the opening contest of the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League on Saturday with a 6-wicket victory. The stage of RCB’s victory was set by Jacob Duffy and Romario Shepherd who starred with 3 wickets apiece to keep Hyderabad down to 201/9 even after Ishan Kishan’s blistering 80 runs in the first innings. Kishan (80, 38b, 8×4, 5×6) and his 97-run stand with Heinrich Klaasen (31) for the fourth wicket was the core of SRH innings. But the match had a rather different start once RCB skipper Patidar asked Hyderabad to bat first on a pitch that was deprived of top-flight cricket for nearly 10 months. The pitch would have been a rather unknown commodity and chasing was a better option in that context. Duffy’s spell (4-0-22-3) vindicated that thought too. The Kiwi pacer used his height well to generate considerable bounce off the track and Abhishek Sharma (7) looked frustrated not being able to free his arm despite carving Duffy for a six over backward point. The left-hander, who has always been uncomfortable against short ball, soon fell to his frustrations as his awkward pull off Duffy ended in the big gloves of Jitesh Sharma. Earlier, RCB had burned a DRS review for caught behind appeal against Abhishek off Duffy in the very first over. Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy too failed to control their pull shots off Duffy as SRH slipped to 29 for three in 4.2 overs, and the visitors ended the Power Play at 49 for three. But Kishan was never really bogged down by the situation or opposition, batting with oodles of bravado. The left-hander brought up his fifty in 27 balls with a four off leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, and his blitz contained some sparkling hits. Abhinandan Singh bore the brunt his wrath, as Kishan carted him for 6, 4, 6 and later spinner Krunal Pandya was hammered for two sixes in an over.Story continues below this ad A mighty blow over third man off Abhinandan carried Kishan to 80, and century was there for his taking. But the pacer had the last laugh as Kishan fell to a stunning one-handed, diving catch by Phil Salt near deep backward point. This could definitely be high on the list of season’s best catches. Kishan’s dismissal robbed SRH some steam in the death overs, despite Aniket Verma (43, 19 balls), who was dropped by Virat Kohli on 26 off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, striking a handy knock down the order. Still the Hyderabad outfit could only make 59 runs in the last five overs
IPL: Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli star as Royal Challengers Bengaluru start title defence with 6-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad
