AB de Villiers and Moeen Ali scored half-centuries as Royal Challengers Bangalore kept their slim IPL play-off hopes alive in a high-scoring encounter against table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad.

De Villiers and Moeen were in fine form, scoring 69 and 65 respectively, as RCB posted a mammoth 218-6 in their 20 overs despite Rashid Khan taking three wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday night. That total looked to be enough to seal a convincing win but it was anything but as Hyderabad came close only to fall short by 14 runs.

Kane Williamson top-scored with 81 before Manish Pandey hit an unbeaten 62 as the visitors reached 204-3.

The result sees Bangalore move up to fifth in the standings with 12 points while Hyderabad remain top with 18 points, with one game still to play.

Here, we look at the takeaways from the match:

AB DE VILLIERS TORMENTS SUNRISERS HYDERABAD YET AGAIN

The South African didn’t even take to the crease in RCB’s 10-wicket win against Kings XI Punjab but lit up the IPL with another fine innings. Perhaps his 69 runs off 39 deliveries really shouldn’t be a surprise considering he had scored 380 runs off 219 deliveries, averaging 42.2 with a strike rate of 173.5 against Sunrisers previously. Coming in with the score 6-1 and just six balls bowled, the pressure was on but De Villiers showed such composure to rescue his team and put on a show of the highest order.

While Moeen Ali went for the sixes, De Villiers went for the fours (12) and one six and most crucially put on a 107-run stand with Moeen for the third wicket. The only thing that was missing was a deserved century but fans wouldn’t have too many complaints especially as it was a stunning catch from Shikhar Dhawan.

Later, he defied physics by taking a one-handed grab to dismiss Alex Hales at the boundary.

MOEEN ALI SEND OUT A REMINDER OF HIS POTENTIAL TO ENGLAND SELECTORS

Just 48 hours after being left out of England’s squad for their first Test against Pakistan, Moeen Ali responded in style by letting the bat do the talking. Moeen had to bide his time to don the Royal Challengers Bangalore jersey, making his debut only on May 7 in the corresponding fixture. He went on to make a further two appearances but never exactly showed the form that made RCB pay £187,000 for his services.

But all that changed on Thursday evening. The 30-year-old was fortunate not to be out on 23 when Dhawan caught his attempt, only for him to touch the boundary and the Englishman made Sunrisers pay by smashing six sixes and two fours in his 34-ball 65-run knock. More performances like this and surely it’s only a matter of time before he’s recalled to the Test fold.

SHOULD UMPIRES GET TIME LIMITS?

Fans inside the stadium and indeed the TV viewers were left frustrated by how long it took for the umpire to decide over whether De Villiers’ shot had gone for a six or four in the fifth over. Unsure whether the ball had hit the ropes or bounced before, he consulted television replays from three different angles before a zoomed in image was provided after two minutes.

Replays appeared to show the ball hitting the ropes before bouncing back into play. By the time he had signaled the four, between two and three minutes were lost and surely it raises questions whether there should be time limits for umpire decisions for the game to glow.

SUNRISERS NEARLY PULL OFF AN UNLIKELY WIN

Chasing a score of 211 in T20 cricket is by no means easy and when you’re 64-2 with seven overs gone, the task is even more harder.

But the way Williamson and Pandey batted to nearly see Sunrisers home proved why they are serious challengers for the IPL title. Bangalore were not at their best in the fielding department and gifted their opposition the runs but Willamson (81 from 42) and Pandey (62no from 38) were on a different level as they orchestrated a remarkable chase only to fall short by 14 runs. Greater tests lie await but coach Tom Moody will be pleased the batsmen have the mentality to deal with gigantic scores going into the business end of tournament.