Ashish Nehra took 2-42 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore to reach 100 IPL wickets and guarantee a victory for the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.
This was the opening match of the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League and it kicked off with what was a repeat of last year’s final.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 207 in their 20 overs. Yuvraj Singh’s 27-ball 67 and Moises Henriques’ 52 off 37 balls set the tone for their side.
The SRH bowlers dominated a depleted RCB batting lineup as they were reduced to 154-6. With 54 runs required from 18 deliveries, the visitors still held a glimmer of hope with Shane Watson on 22. Nehra then struck a brace to crush RCB’s chances of victory and reduce them to 156-8.
A second from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and a runout sealed a 35-run victory for the Sunrisers Hyderabad as RCB were bowled out for 172 with two balls remaining.
Nehra’s brace meant that he became the eighth bowler and first left-hander to reach the 100-wicket milestone, and at 37 years old became the oldest to achieve the feat.
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Photo: Cricinfo/BCCI
