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Home  » Cricket » Turning Point: Siraj's last over heroics

Turning Point: Siraj's last over heroics

By Norma Godinho
May 18, 2018 12:07 IST
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Mohammed Siraj celebrates a wicket

IMAGE: Mohammed Siraj, second from left, celebrates Kane Williamson's wicket with Mandeep Singh, Captain Virat Kohli and Colin de Grandhomme. Photograph: BCCI

A B de Villiers and Moeen Ali were the architects of RCB's massive 218 that table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad had to chase down to win.

Although SRH lost Shikhar Dhawan and Alex Hales in the first 8 overs, Captain Kane Williamson (81 off 42) and Manish Pandey (63 off 38) fought back and kept the team in the hunt.

Williamson clobbered Moeen and fellow Kiwi Tim Southee after Hales fell.

Pandey took some time to find his groove, then found the gaps and played a perfect ally to Williamson, bringing up their 100 run partnership in the 16th over.

With 55 needed off the final four overs, Southee was given the 17th over and he exhibited some real skill, giving away just 6 runs.

 

Mohammed Siraj was brought in next, and the batsmen took 14 runs off him to ease the pressure.

Southee then gave away 15 runs in the 19th, and with 20 needed off the last over, it looked do-able with Williamson and Pandey at the crease.

Siraj was given the responsibility to take RCB home and he repaid Skipper Kohli's trust.

First, he captured Williamson's wicket off his first ball.

In an effort to go big, Williamson went across the stumps, tried to hoick the ball over fine leg, but found another Kiwi Colin de Grandhomme at fine leg.

That put the pressure on Pandey, who wilted and how!

First, he played a dot and then a single.

Deepak Hooda took a single and that was it.

16 were needed off 1 ball. And Siraj finally had a happy ending to an IPL-11 game.

With Thursday's win, RCB stays in the hunt for a place in the IPL-11 playoffs.

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Norma Godinho / Rediff.com

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