'Would be lying if I say I didn't have nerves bowling last over to AB de Villiers': Bhuvneshwar Kumar after SRH win
After defending 12 off the last over with de Villiers playing most of it, Bhuvneshwar said he would be lying if he said he did not have nerves while bowling to the great man.
When AB de Villiers denied the single off the third ball of the last over, it was pretty much clear that it would be the South African legend vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The outcome of the battle will decide the winner of the Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL 2021 match in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. RCB needed 12 off 3 balls.
De Villiers proved his decision right straightaway with a superb straight six to bring it down to 6 off 2. Bhuvneshwar then brought all his experience into play and bowled two good last deliveries to give only 1 run and seal a thrilling four-run win for SRH.
Also read: IPL 2021: Bhuvneshwar defends 12 runs in last over as SRH beat RCB
After defending 12 off the last over with de Villiers playing most of it, Bhuvneshwar said he would be lying if he said he did not have nerves while bowling to the great man.
"If I say there were no nerves, I would be lying. For AB - I was just trying to be full, and nothing else. That was the only plan - I went for six and then I went with wide yorkers. We were thinking 10-15 runs short but the way everyone bowled was tremendous," said Bhuvneshwar after the match.
The right-arm seamer was hit by Glenn Maxwell shot in earlier but when asked about the situation, he said: "It's fine, I got hit thrice, but it's okay."
RCB were dealt an early blow in their chase when Bhuvneshwar trapped Virat Kohli in the first over.
The decision to promote Daniel Christian at number 3 also didn't work as he was deceived by a slower delivery by Siddarth Kaul.
At 18 for 2, Srikar Bharat joined hands with Devdutt Padikkal and produced two handsome shots for a six and a four to take RCB to 37 for 2 in six overs.
New pace sensation Umran Malik then struck in his fifth delivery, removing Bharat as RCB slipped to 38 for 2.
New-man in Maxwell made his intent clear, clobbering Rashid Khan for a maximum. He repeated the treatment again, sending the Afghan spinner over long-on and then sweeping him for another four.
But with Malik clocking 150km plus consistently, RCB decided to target the other bowlers.
However, a poor call by Padikkal ended with Maxwell being runout, while the former too was caught at the boundary line as RCB further slumped to 109 for 4 in 16.5 overs.
Needing 29 off 18 balls, Shahbaz Ahmed smashed two fours to bring the equation down before being dismissed by Holder in the 19th over.
(With PTI inputs)
