IPL 2024: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans, 52nd Match - Who Said What?

Royal Challengers Bengaluru were well in control for the majority of the match against Gujarat Titans but like always, they complicated it at first but in the end, got the job done. Dinesh Karthik rose to the occasion and played a mature knock to help RCB win the game by four wickets and with that, the Faf du Plessis-led side kept themselves alive in the race to qualify for the playoffs.

Batting first, GT were in trouble right from the start. The Shubman Gill-led side were 19/3 at one stage and nothing was going right for them at one stage. However, Shahrukh Khan and David Miller stitched an important partnership which brought GT back into the contest. Later, Rahul Tewatia played a good cameo of 35 runs off 21 balls but there was little support from the other players. Wickets fell like a house of cards in the end as GT posted 147 runs in the first innings - which never looked enough.

Also Read - RCB vs GT: Anushka Sharma's reaction sums up Virat Kohli's almost run-out

When it came to the chase, Faf du Plessis and Kohli gave the perfect start to RCB. The skipper led by example as he made 64 runs off 23 deliveries. He became the second-fastest RCB cricketer to hit a half-century and that set the tone for the hosts. Virat Kohli supported him well and just when RCB looked to be in well control, they lost wickets for fun.

Kohli seemed to be the man on song but once he got out, things seemed to have gone out of control but Karthik stepped up and helped RCB win by four wickets.

1. RCB bowlers stepped up big time

RCB bowlers had a very tough season but against Gujarat, they performed well and restricted the visitors to 147 runs. Mohammed Siraj picked up wickets with the new ball while Vijaykumar Vyshak got the job done in the death. In the middle overs, Karn Sharma was sensational, as he picked up two wickets for just 23 runs. This performance should motivate the team to do well in the remaining matches.

2. Leading from the front

Skipper Faf du Plessis gave the perfect start to RCB. If it wasn’t for his knock, RCB could have been in some form of trouble but that didn’t happen as Faf’s incredible knock made sure they won the game in the end.

Losing skipper Shubman Gill said:

It all depends on the wicket, you see the first couple of overs. You get an idea and you play according to that. I think 170-180 on this wicket would have been a good total. I think how we batted in the powerplay and how we bowled in the powerplay, that made a difference. We would have an extra bowling option (had we not lost early wickets.) Never easy. It's important for us to start from zero (in the next game), need to move on. Many positives to take from this game, need to make sure we don't repeat our mistakes. It's all about winning everything we can from here on.

Winning skipper Faf du Plessis said:

We've been really good in the last few games, with both bat and ball. We've been unbelievable in the field as well. The wicket was a bit different, there was a bit more bounce. Wanted to make sure we take that information from the pitch and give it to the bowlers. Yes there was a dropped catch but it's the effort that we look for and that was there throughout. The games we've played here have all been high-scoring, anything around 180-190 would've been par. Was important we didn't look at the scoreboard when we went out to bat and try and play the way we play. Was a bit nervous. Probably not the best assessment from us there. Yes we wanted to go out there and get the total quickly to boost the NRR but probably when we were 4 down, we had to calm down a little bit.

POTM Mohammed Siraj said:

I was really ill for the last few days, thought I might not be able to play today but I really wanted to play so it was great that I was able to. Got the success today after practising a lot with the new ball this year. Reminded me of last year. When I woke up in the morning, I thought I wouldn't be able to play and that I should take rest. When I woke up, I manifested what I wanted to do and that's exactly what happened. Not easy to switch between red and white ball cricket. You need to give your 110% every ball here.