Lucknow, May 24 (NationPress) Eshan Malinga and Pat Cummins orchestrated a dramatic batting collapse for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who fell to 189 all out in 20 overs during Match 65 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Ekana Stadium on Friday. This outcome allowed Sunrisers Hyderabad to secure a commanding 42-run victory over the team led by Jitesh Sharma, halting their ambitions of climbing to the top of the points table.

In the opening innings, Ishan Kishan shone brightly with an impressive unbeaten 94, helping Sunrisers Hyderabad set an imposing total of 231/6 in 20 overs. Romario Shepherd emerged as the standout bowler for the fielding side, concluding with remarkable figures of 2-14 in just two overs.

In what was his first innings after announcing his retirement from Test cricket, Virat Kohli (43) fought valiantly against the SRH bowlers. He started strong with a late cut off Pat Cummins and followed it up with a powerful shot through the wide mid-off off Jaydev Unadkat. A pull shot towards deep mid-wicket, just eluding Nitesh Kumar Reddy, showcased Kohli’s aggressive approach, while Phil Salt (62) struggled initially, contrasting their usual dynamic.

Salt was fortunate when he hit a full toss from Harshal Patel, which was ruled a no-ball due to height, leading to a catch at the boundary. He was again dismissed on the following free hit after another full toss.

Although one might have expected Kohli to adapt to Harshal’s variations, he responded with two stunning boundaries, including his 800th boundary in T20s. Salt finally found his rhythm, hitting a boundary that brought up RCB's fifty.

Eshan Malinga faced a challenging debut, as Kohli launched him for a six, while Salt accelerated with a six and a four, reaching his fifty in just 27 balls. Mayank Agarwal (11), who replaced Devdutt Padikkal due to injury, got off the mark swiftly but fell victim to a good delivery from Reddy.

With Cummins sensing an opportunity, he had Salt mistiming a full-length delivery, caught by Harshal Patel. Stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma (24), along with Rajat Patidar (18), kept the chase alive, with Sharma hitting Cummins for a six on his first ball. RCB maintained pressure with 10 runs off Harshal and 16 off Undakat, reaching 167/3 by the end of the 15th over before a dramatic turn of events.

Reddy’s

Malinga's first delivery resulted in an immediate catch off Romario Shepherd’s bat, further consolidating RCB's slipping grip on the game. Tim David (1), struggling after an injury, was dismissed by Malinga, who ended his innings with a full toss.

Pat Cummins struck out Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3) before Krunal Pandya (8) mistakenly hit his own stumps. Harshal Patel ended the match for SRH as Yash Dayal (3) fell to a catch in the deep, concluding RCB’s innings at 189/10 and sealing the 42-run victory for SRH.

Brief scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad 231/6 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 94*, Abhishek Sharma 34, Aniket Verma 26; Romario Shepherd 2-14) defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru 189 all out in 20 overs (Phil Salt 62, Virat Kohli 43; Pat Cummins 3-28, Eshan Malinga 2-37) by 42 runs.