Virat Kohli record IPL century keeps RCB in the Playoffs race | Cricket News – Times of India

HYDERABAD: The equation was simple for Royal Challengers Bangalore. They had to win the last two games to further their playoff chances. Sunrisers Hyderabad looked like a potential banana peel at the halfway point. But if the hosts entertained any hopes of a rare win after Heinrich Klaasen’s brilliant, counter-attacking 104 (51b, 8×4, 6×6) took them to 186/5, they were firmly shown their place by the RCB opening duo.
The capacity crowd at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium lapped up all the action but made no secret of their support for Virat Kohli and RCB after Faf du Plessis put the hosts in on Thursday.

The crowd got their money’s worth through Kohli’s classy 100 (63b, 12×4, 4×6), which he brought up with a six off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. It was the first instance of batsmen from two teams scoring a century in the same match in the IPL.
With chants of ‘Kohli, Kohli’ and ‘RCB, RCB’ reverberating across the stadium, the RCB duo must have felt at home as they made it an open and shut case. Kohli and du Plessis’ 172-run opening partnership in 108 deliveries helped them finish the match at 187/2 and the clinical eight-wicket win took them to fourth in the standings.

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Du Plessis (71; 47b, 7×4, 2×6) has been in prolific touch this season and his rich vein of form continued as he upstaged Klaasen, a fellow South African, who not just revived the SRH innings earlier in the day, but in striking at over 200, took a toll on the rival attack.

Klaasen was involved in two good partnerships – 76 for the third (50b) with skipper Aiden Markram and 74 for the fourth (36b) with Harry Brook — but they were inadequate on a night when the RCB duo whittled the target with their calculated attack.
They cruised to 64 without loss in the powerplay and Glenn Phillips will rue the reprieve he gave du Plessis off Kartik Tyagi – playing only his second game this season – when the RCB skipper was on eight.

The race for playoff spots is still tight with teams bunched in the middle and there is a good chance net run-rate will come into the mix soon.

Watch IPL: Kohli, du Plessis show keep RCB in play-off hunt