Jason Holder cameo at the end got SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) over the line against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in match 52 of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The victory has also helped them inch closer to qualification for the playoffs, thanks to their positive net run rate.
With this win, SRH jumped from seventh place to fourth on the points table. Now, as many as four teams -- SRH (net run rate +0.555), Kings XI Punjab (-0.133), Rajasthan Royals (-0.377), and Kolkata Knight Riders (-0.467) -- are locked at 12 points. They all have one match left to play, and their final positions could be determined by the net run rate.
Mumbai Indians are at the top of the table with 18 points while RCB and Delhi Capitals are placed second and third with 14 points each. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs.
In the crucial contest on Saturday, SRH opted to field on winning the toss and rode some impressive bowling effort to restrict a star-studded RCB to a moderate total.
RCB batters failed to convert the start. It was the collective effort by AB de Villiers (24), Josh Philippe (32), Washington Sundar (21) and Gurkeerat Singh (15 not out) as RCB somehow limped to a moderate total.
Some quality bowling saw RCB being restricted to 120/7 wickets in the allotted 20 overs as Sandeep Sharma (2/20) and Jason Holder (2/27) starred for SRH. Apart from the duo, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rashid Khan and T Natarajan bagged a wicket apiece.
Chasing RCB's 120, Holder smashed 26 off 10 balls to take his team to a five-wicket win with just under six overs to spare at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. SRH finished at 121 for five wickets in14.1 overs.
SRH lost captain David Warner in the second over but Manish Pandey and Wriddhiman Saha put up 50 for the second wicket. Just as it looked like the pair are taking their team to an easy win, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal brought RCB back into the game with the wickets of Pandey and Saha.
Kane Williamson then fell to pacer Isuru Udana while Abhishek Sharma fell to speedster Navdeep Saini. Holder then wrestled back control and led SRH to victory.
