Royal Challengers Bangalore opened their Indian Premier League 2020 campaign with a fine win after Sunrisers Hyderabad imploded in dramatic style in Dubai.
Half-centuries from debutant Devdutt Padikkal and South Africa veteran AB de Villiers had helped Bangalore post a competitive total of 163-5 after batting first. 20-year-old Padikkal showed no signs of any nerves in a fluently crafted innings before de Villiers turned on the style in the death overs with some lusty hits.
In reply, the Sunrisers lost skipper David Warner early but were put firmly in control by a rapid fifty from England stalwart Jonny Bairstow. Hyderabad seemed to have the game in the bag at 121-2 before Bairstow perished in an attempt to slog RCB leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.
What followed was the most dramatic of collapses as Chahal and Navdeen Saini took control with the ball for the Royal Challengers. A freak collision between two batsmen was just one of the several things which went wrong for Hyderabad who ultimately were bowled out for just 153 runs.
Bairstow, Padikkal, de Villiers and Chahal all feature in our picks from Matchday 3 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
