IPL Final 2016: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad Score, Recap
Sunrisers Hydrabad won their first-ever Indian Premier League Twenty20 title on Sunday, beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight runs in the final.
David Warner powered Hyderabad's innings with a half-century, and per Bangladesh Cricket, he tied the record for the fastest half-century in an IPL final:
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Chris Gayle answered with a superb knock of his own, however, scoring 76 from 38 to keep Bangalore's chase alive. Virat Kohli also added a half-century, but Hyderabad's bowlers took control of the match in the latter overs and defended their score of 208 for seven.
Recap
Sunrisers, 208/7 (Warner 69, Cutting 2-35) bt. Royal Challengers, 200/7 (Gayle 76, Aravind 2-30) by eight runs.
Sunday's final was billed as a clash between the IPL's best bowling side, Hyderabad, against the best batting team, Bangalore, and it was no surprise to see Sunrisers chose to bat first after winning the toss.
A massive innings was needed from Warner and his team-mates, knowing full well Bangalore have the kind of explosive offence that can chase down almost any target, regardless of their opponents.
Sunrisers got exactly what they needed from their openers, as Warner (69 from 38) and Shikhar Dhawan (28 from 25) quickly pushed the run rate toward double digits.
As shared by Hotstar, they were finding all sorts of gaps with their shots:
Dhawan lasted until the seventh over before he was caught by Chris Jordan, and by the time Moises Henriques (four from five) was caught near the end of the 10th, Hyderabad had scored 97 and were on pace for a score close to 200. Their run-rate at the midway point was 9.70.
Yuvraj Singh (38 from 23) also contributed to the onslaught, but Warner, one of this year's best openers, was Hyderabad's main man. Per Broken Cricket, he usually does well against Royal Challengers:
Hyderabad's innings stalled after Warner was caught in the 14th over, and Bangalore's bowlers appeared to be on their way to limiting the total. But the visitors exploded in the final three overs, scoring 52 to finish 208 for seven. Ben Cutting did most of the damage with an unbeaten 39.
Sreenath Aravind finished with solid figures of two-30, but his fellow bowlers put together a poor outing. Shane Watson's economy rate of 15.25 was painfully high, and while Jordan took three wickets, he also surrendered 45 runs in four overs.
While the target of 209 looked daunting, Sunrisers' official Twitter account reminded everyone their opponents had some quality openers of their own:
Kohli (54 from 35) started pretty slow, but Gayle soon found a rhythm, and by the end of the fifth over, Bangalore were on pace to chase down the target, having scored 55.
TV personality Piers Morgan was impressed:
Gayle hit his half-century with a six on the first delivery of the sixth over, and when Kohli started the 10th with back-to-back boundaries, the home fans started to believe. At the midway point, Bangalore had scored 112, but the required run rate was still 9.70.
And when Gayle was finally caught early in the 11th, Hyderabad had their chance to seize momentum. Kohli chose this time to increase his strike rate, making his half-century in the 13th before he was bowled later in the over.
AB de Villiers (five from six) didn't last long, and with 51 needed from the final 30 deliveries against Hyderabad's vaunted bowlers, victory was anything but assured.
Lokesh Rahul (11 from eight) couldn't add much to the chase, as Hyderabad's rally started to gather pace, and the dismissal of Watson (11 from nine) all but ended Bangalore's chase. The required run rate spiked over 20.00, and with Bangalore's top batsmen already gone, Sunrisers threw caution to the wind.
Stuart Binny (nine from seven) was run out soon after, and with 18 needed from the final over, Hyderabad sent out star bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar to close the deal. Kumar didn't make any mistakes, as Sunrisers finished the job to grab their first title.
Per Bangalore's official Twitter account, Kohli finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer, and he explained how it came to pass:
It's a phenomenal achievement for Hyderebad, who relied on a handful of key batsmen like Warner to produce enough runs all year season long. The win showed that with strong bowling and fielding, even the biggest offensive juggernaut can be defeated.
Bangalore didn't get much production from Gayle until the final but should add more to the team next year. Expect Royal Challengers to return with yet another strong offensive team next season and start the IPL campaign as title favourites.
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