'Getting him out early was crucial' - Kane Williamson calls Virat Kohli's dismissal key for GT against RCB

Gujarat Titans (GT) secured a crucial eight-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their IPL 2025 clash at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. The match saw RCB struggling after the early dismissal of Virat Kohli, a moment that former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson believes was crucial to GT’s success. Williamson mentioned how Kohli’s early exit disturbed RCB’s batting momentum and played an important role in GT’s win.

RCB, who relied heavily on their star player to anchor their innings, were disappointed as Arshad Khan dismissed Kohli in the second over. The veteran batter attempting a pull shot off Khan’s short delivery hit straight to Prasidh Krishna at deep backward square leg. Kohli’s departure at 7 off 6 balls left RCB at 8/1, exposing their middle order earlier than expected.

"It was just an instinctive shot—one that Virat has played a million times before. This time, it went straight to the fielder. He’s hit it for six plenty of times, he’s flicked it along the ground, but sometimes, that’s just how the game goes. It was a huge wicket for GT because Virat at Chinnaswamy is incredibly destructive. He has scored around 3,000 runs here and knows how to bat long and play match-winning knocks. So, getting him out early was crucial for Gujarat Titans," Williamson said on JioHotstar.

RCB might look at a different approach in the middle overs: Williamson

Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj, playing a vital role for GT, further dismantled RCB’s batting lineup, earning him the Player of the Match award for his spell of 3/19. The visitors capitalized on this breakthrough as Siraj removed Devdutt Padikkal and Philip Salt within the powerplay. Despite Liam Livingstone’s 54 off 40 balls, Tim David's 32 off 18, and Jitesh Sharma's 33 off 21, RCB could only manage 169/8 in their allotted 20 overs.

In reply, Gujarat's batting lineup made the chase look easy. Jos Buttler’s 73* off 39 balls, Sai Sudharsan's 49 off 36, and Sherfane Rutherford's unbeaten 30 off 18 ensured the team reached the target in just 17.5 overs with eight wickets in hand. Furthermore, the New Zealand batter opened up where RCB had gone wrong and how they can come up from this.

"There’s a growing trend in the IPL where teams are constantly aiming for high totals, especially at venues like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, where big scores seem achievable. But sometimes, in the pursuit of those high totals, you can get ahead of yourself. After losing a couple of early wickets, it’s important to consolidate and build a partnership.

"If you have wickets in hand, the last 10 overs can be really productive, going at 14 runs per over or more. Perhaps, RCB might reflect on this game and feel that if they had batted together for a few more overs, they could have set themselves up better. They played incredibly well in the first two games, but they might look back and think that a different approach in the middle overs could have put them in a stronger position on this wicket, which had some assistance for seam bowlers," Williamson added.