*SRH VS RCB REVIEW- MATCH 65*
*GLIMPSES OF VINTAGE VIRAT AS RCB CRUISE THROUGH:*
It was a near perfect chase for the visitors as they did not disappoint their fans in a must win game. Right when the chase started, Kohli creamed one through the covers only to collect another boundary off the very next ball. The first two balls were enough to tell the opposition the kind of intent with which he was going to bat. While Faf took his time initially, it was the initial burst from Kohli that set the tempo right. Eventually, Faf catched up and started to race at a much higher tempo than the King himself. When RCB were nearing a hundred, both the openers were at an identical score of 47 off 31 but Faf got to the milestone quicker than the former RCB skipper with Kohli breaching past the landmark soon enough. Barring Dagar who was looking dangerous in his first two overs, none of the bowlers looked threatening. Even the most experienced of pacers in their lineup, Bhuvneshwar was being belted around like a club level cricketer. It was truly a partnership worth witnessing as the chants of “Aar Cee Bee” became louder and louder. Once Kohli went past his fifty, he activated his beast mode. RCB were at the 150 mark around the fifteen over, in control of the chase. The 34 year old made life difficult for the SRH bowlers as the newbies were treated with disdain and when he accelerated, it was breathtaking. He reached his century with a six heaved on the leg side, marking his return vs SRH, against whom he had recorded two ducks in 2022. Though Virat and Faf (71) departed in quick succession towards the backend, it was rather a convincing win for the trophy less side as they cruised past the Aiden led group with 4 balls remaining and 8 wickets in hand.
*EFFORTLESS KLAASEN DESERVINGLY LIGHTS UP THE RAJIV GANDHI STADIUM:*
Both Abhishek and Tripathi looked tentative against the new ball bowling of RCB. But a pressure releasing over from Parnell came and SRH looked right back in. Only for the momentum to be broken again as Bracewell struck twice to send the openers back to the pavilion. Out came Klaasen and he was at his pristine best. He timed the ball perfectly and displayed his flawless batting in front of the home crowd. Huge plus to SRH for sending him at 4 so that he could entertain the thousands of people cheering on from the stands. None of the RCB bowlers had any answers to the assault they were receiving and though Markram was bowled off Shahbaz, the left armer ended up conceding loads of runs against the Protea wicket keeper. Karn Sharma, in particular, was the pick of the bowlers, in terms of conceding runs. He gave 45 runs at 15 an over and threw himself under the bus. SRH could amass a massive total all thanks to this masterclass from Klaasen which lasted for 51 balls and ended up yielding 104 runs. The other notable contributor in their innings was Brook who played a handy cameo of 27 off 19 at the backend.