AB de Villiers slams his fifth half century of T20 2018 as Bangalore stun Hyderabad to stay in playoffs hunt
Bangalore's AB de Villiers takes a stunning catch to dismiss Hyderabad;s Alex Hales during an T20 2018 match yesterday. ABD also top-scored with 69 for his team. Pics/PTI
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On the one earlier occasion, the Bangalore scored in excess of 200 this season at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, it wasn't enough to secure a win. Last night was almost no different at as Bangalore, in a must-win situation, just about found it in them to defend the 218 they made after being put into bat. The 14-run victory has kept alive their chances of a berth in the playoffs.
It was Hyderabad's in-form skipper Kane Williamson (81, 42b, 7x4, 5x6), helpless when his bowlers were being taken to the cleaners, who took the fight to the Bangalore camp after opener Alex Hales had fallen to an incredible catch by AB de Villiers on the mid-wicket fence.
The classy Williamson's ally in the chase was local lad Manish Pandey, in indifferent form until now. Pandey (62 not out, 38b, 7x4, 2x6) started slowly but then made up with some innovative strokes. The duo's 135-run (67b) third wicket that ended only in the final over in which 20 runs were required for the win, nearly silenced yet another packed house here.
Earlier, it was a question of using all the resources available upfront and Virat Kohli didn't hold back his key men, who in turn held nothing back either. If after the early fall of Kohli, De Villiers (69, 39b, 12x4, 1x6) struck fours at will, Ali (65, 34b, 2x4, 6x6) was all 6s. Even an otherwise very impressive Rashid Khan (4-0-27-3) wasn't spared by the English all-rounder but the best or rather the most was reserved for Basil Thampi, included in the side to give Bhuvneshwar Kumar a rest ahead of the Playoffs.
All the Bangalore batsmen, including Colin de Grandhomme (40, 17b, 1x4, 4x6) and Sarfaraz Khan, who contributed a 8-ball 22, tore into Thampi, the medium pacer from Kerala conceding as many as 70 runs from his four overs. His batsmen, Williamson and Pandey all but helped him forget the thrashing but in the end Bangalore still prevailed.
Also Read: AB de Villiers loves playing alongside 'great friend' Virat Kohli
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