"Don't want to finish last, also knocking a big side out of the tournament is an incentive," Team Hyderabad skipper Kumar Sangakkara had said after the toss. After packing off Rajasthan on Friday, Hyderabad produced another spirited display to thwart Bangalore's hopes of making it to the playoffs with a nine-run win at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, on Sunday evening.
In the process, Hyderabad did Chennai a big favour as the defending champions clinched the last place in the playoffs by virtue of a better run-rate. Hyderabad too did themselves a big favour by pushing Pune down to the last spot in the points table.
Bangalore, who had to win this match to book their playoff spot, seemed to have done their homework quite well. And after the bowlers had put up a splendid show to restrict Hyderabad to 132 for seven, Chris Gayle came out all guns blazing. The West Indian hammered Manpreet Gony for three fours and two sixes in the second over of the innings and it looked as if the visitors would romp to an easy win.
However, Hyderabad spearhead Dale Steyn, who was taken to the cleaners by AB de Villiers in their earlier match, seemed to have different ideas. The South African produced a blistering spell of fast bowling to put Bangalore on the back foot.
The free-flowing Gayle met his match in the fiery Steyn. The speedster softened the West Indian with a superb bouncer. A flustered Gayle (27; 10b, 3x4, 2x6) made room to cut the next ball but only succeeded in chopping it onto his stumps. Steyn then had Tillakaratne Dilshan leg before and leggie Amit Mishra got into the act by sending back the dangerous AB de Villiers and Mayank Agarwal in the same over to put the brakes on Bangalore.
Saurabh Tiwary, who had retired hurt on 2 because of cramps when the score was 40/2, came back at the fall of Agarwal's wicket and with skipper Virat Kohli steadied the innings. The duo stitched a 37-ball 46 for the fifth wicket to keep Bangalore in the game. However, Kohli (42; 40b, 2x4, 2x6) fell in the 16th over and that left the visitors 30 to win.
The Hyderabad bowlers didn't choke under pressure this time as they dashed the visitors' hopes as they finished with 123 for nine.
Earlier, Hyderabad, put into bat by Kohli, had a miserable start as Shikhar Dhawan, their top scorer this season, was cleaned up by a Zaheer Khan delivery in the first over of the game. Thereafter, nothing really went Hyderabad's way as they lost two more wickets to be reduced to three for 20 in the fifth over.
It was a grind from thereon as Sangakkara and JP Duminy tried to rebuild the innings. The duo added 31 for the fourth wicket but the going was terribly slow. Sangakkara fell in the 12th over while trying to get some momentum as Bangalore literally chocked the rivals. However, the huge turn-out had something to cheer in the later part of the innings as Duminy took it upon himself to steer Hyderabad to a decent score.
The South African, who later took three catches on the field, took a heavy toll of Zaheer Khan and Muralitharan in the 17th and 18th overs, hitting four sixes and a four in those two overs.
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