BANGALORE — With a whirlwind knock of 89 not out AB de Villiers single-handily powered Royal Challengers Bangalore to a four-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad here Sunday. After being sent in to bat first, David Warner's fine half-century lifted Hyderabad to a competitive 155 for five in their 20 overs. It was a good score but with excellent batting conditions, it was not a great one. Chris Gayle and Parthiv Patel started the innings cautiously and Dale Steyn bowled a tidy first over, giving away just five runs of the first over. Bhuvaneshwar got things under way, beating Parthiv with a half volley which was an inside edge that went back to knock back his off stump. Soon Kohli edged the ball to the keeper. Gayle, after calming waters in the initial overs, lit up when he saw Ishant Sharma and smashed the lanky Indian pacer for two back to back sixes. But Karn Sharma induced Gayle to play across the line and a flat hit only found Darren Sammy in the deep. After Riley Rossouw and Yuvraj Singh deserted de Villiers, the South African fought a gallant battle steering the team to victory. Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 155 for 6 of 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 37, David Warner 61, Naman Ojha 15 ; Mitchell Starc 2 for 21, Varun Aaron 2 for 33). Royal Challengers Bangalore 158 for 6 in 19.5 (Chris Gayle 23, Ab de Villiers 89 not out, Yuvraj Singh 14; Bhuvaneshwar Kumar 2 for 16, Karn Sharma 3 for 17). — Agencies
