LONDON: Royal Challengers Bangalore were handed a third straight defeat in the Indian Premier League on Sunday at Sunrisers Hyderabad, who hammered the visitors by 118 runs.
The heavy defeat prompted Bangalore captain Virat Kohli to call the result “probably our worst loss ever.”
Kohli might have won the toss, but Hyderabad openers Jonny Bairstow along with Australian David Warner soon made him regret his decision to put the hosts into bat.
The writing was on the wall for the away side after Warner and Bairstow hit a century each, sharing the IPL’s best ever opening stand of 185.
The Englishman hit seven sixes and and 12 fours on his way to his maiden IPL ton, and becoming only the third man from England to score a century in the competition’s history.
It was another strong display from the pair, who are likely to play against each other when England play Australia in the Ashes this summer.
“I’m absolutely cooked,” Bairstow said after his innings.
“He’s great fun, just going ahead with hitting the ball, it was fantastic to bat in the middle with him.”
Warner, who is playing in the IPL after a year-long ban for ball-tampering during Australia’s tour of South Africa in 2017 came to an end last month, added: “The 12 months (off) has done me well. I feel refreshed.”
His and Bairstow’s heroics meant Bangalore faced an uphill task of chasing down a colossal 232 from their 20 overs. But there was little fight in the reply as they were bowled out for a paltry target of 113.
“Difficult one to explain, we were outplayed in all departments by a quality side,” Kohli said.
“This showed why they are former champions and finalists, they batted really well once they got in, and brilliant to sustain intent for the first 16 to 17 overs,” he added.
Kohli’s batting partner AB de Villiers was dismissed cheaply by off-spinner Mohammad Nabi, who took four wickets on debut.
Hyderabad seamer Sandeep Sharma dismissed Kohli for a sixth time since the first season of the IPL — only Ashish Nehra, Bangalore’s current bowling coach, has dismissed the Indian legend on as many occasions.
Despite the embarrassing loss, Kohli was still hopeful of a turnaround in form, saying his team would be aiming to get their first win when they face Rajasthan Royals in their next match.
“We still have 11 games, and things can turn around quite quickly in this league.
“Against Rajasthan Royals, when things don’t go our way, we will have to find ways of winning moments. You need to start well,” he added.
Bangalore managed to reach the IPL final in 2016, a run built on Virat Kohli’s record-breaking 973 runs and magnificent support batting from South Africa’s de Villiers. However, since their defeat in that year’s final, the franchise has struggled and early form suggests it will be another tough season for Kohli and his players.
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