Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Aiden Markram was disappointed after they suffered an eight-wicket loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on Thursday. The home team could not defend their total of 186 runs after Faf du Plessis won the toss and decided to bowl first.
Heinrich Klaasen continued his rich form in the ongoing IPL 2023 as he scored the second-fastest century for SRH. Klaasen was able to hit the ground running as he smashed a four on the first ball he faced against Michael Bracewell and didn’t look back.
The South African scored a majestic knock of 104 runs off 51 balls with the help of eight fours and six sixes as he scored his runs at a strike rate of more than 200.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis gave a perfect start to their team in the run-chase as they added 64 runs in the Powerplay overs. Kohli scored his sixth IPL century, smashing 100 runs from 63 balls whereas Faf continued his purple patch to score 71 runs from 47 balls. The RCB opening pair added 172 runs to help their team get close to the target.
In fact, SRH was poor in the field as Faf du Plessis was given an early reprieve by Glenn Phillips. Markram added his bowlers had plans in place but they couldn’t execute them while defending. The SRH skipper also showered praise on Heinrich Klaasen, who continued his dream form in IPL 2023.
Aiden Markram said in the post-match presentation, “Great knock from Faf and Virat. We had a look at some guys moving forward. Probably one less option in the powerplay. Kartik was put under pressure. The plans were in place but the execution didn’t fall in place. Mayank was impressive. A special knock from Klaasen. Super happy for the guy. I don’t think he would have dreamed of getting a hundred in the IPL. Unfortunately ended in a losing cause.”
Sunrisers Hyderabad haven’t been able to come up with a collective effort and it has led to their downfall. The Orange Army will play their last league stage match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday.
