HYDERABAD: The contest within the contest between Hyderabad and Bangalore should make for fascinating viewing in the second match of the Sunday double header at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Dale Steyn’s searing pace can reduce everything to nothing. And the explosive power-hitting of Chris Gayle can make something out of any situation. Their tussle to swing it for their team would top the heap in a match that pits two teams coming off wins in close encounters at home.
By intimidating the Pune batsmen in the team’s penultimate over on Friday, Steyn not just ensured a good start for his team but the manner in which he did it would be heartening for the South African pacer for whom winning is everything.
Pune’s lack of enterprise also helped Hyderabad’s cause but on a wicket with spongy bounce — not a bad ploy for the hosts as they look to negate the free-stroking ability of Bangalore batsmen — the stout performance of leg-spinner Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma’s ability to sustain pressure and Thisara Perera’s all-round effort stood out.
“If they prepare another wicket like this, it will probably play into our hands,” Steyn said after the 22-run win over Pune on Friday night.
“Gayle is a free-flowing player. He is a big boundary-hitter and as you saw tonight, there weren’t a lot of boundaries hit. If we can take that away from his game, it might actually help us. In all honesty, I hope we have another wicket like this come Sunday because it could be a similar result if we play the same way we did tonight,” he added.
With the first match out of the way, skipper Kumar Sangakkara will have a good idea of resources at hand and the need to have a few more runs in the bank because Gayle can so easily ruin all plans when he throws caution to the wind.