The Gujarat Titans entered the Chinnaswamy Stadium hoping to bring their campaign on track after the tragic loss against the Mumbai Indians at their home ground, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Having played six matches this season, they have managed to win three matches and have also lost the same number of games. Winning one here would have levelled them with the likes of RCB and SRH.
On the other hand, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru would be looking to register a win as they play their last game in front of the home crowd at their home ground in Chinnaswamy. Their next two home matches are scheduled to be played in Raipur. Also, RCB looks to bounce back to form after their winning streak was once again interrupted by the defeat at the hands of the Delhi Capitals.
RCB’s most veteran cricketer has done it once again, as Virat Kohli led them to yet another scintillating chase at Chinnaswamy. He was once again awarded the player of the match for his spectacular knock of 81 runs.
Sai Sudharsan’s brilliant century guides Gujarat Titans to a 200+ total
The Gujarat Titans head to Chinnaswamy after their batters struggled to put on a show against the Mumbai Indians at their home ground. The entire team was dismissed with just 100 runs on the board, but this time, Sai Sudharsan had very different intentions from the start.
Despite having made a slow start, Sudharsan backed his innings with some stunning shots, especially from the final over of the powerplay, and went on to put on 128 runs for the first wicket alongside the skipper.
After having scored a century, he was dismissed and left it to the middle-order batters to take it to a massive score. However, Washington Sundar struggled, and Jason Holder was allowed to come back much later at the back end, which led the Titans to manage not more than 205 on the board by the end of their 20 overs.
Virat Kohli’s drop costs Gujarat Titans the game
RCB was chasing the second-highest total in the history of the competition, and they successfully ended it with a massive chase even in the absence of Phil Salt. Virat Kohli was dropped for a duck by Washington Sundar, and he never looked back.
With a century partnership and a staggering run-scoring spree between Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal, they took RCB to the doorstep of a massive win. Kohli went on to be the chasemaster he has always been throughout his career.
Kohli’s staggering knock, piled with some dominant display from Devdutt Padikkal and a finishing touch from Krunal Pandya, helped RCB chase their second-biggest target in the history of the IPL. This also became RCB’s 50th win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
We had to assess the conditions early on- Virat Kohli
“We had to assess the conditions early on. We were only one partnership away. We wanted to try and analyze. Padikkal has done this twice this season. This is quite rare, to be honest. His innings was the clear difference. I was trying to be in the game. That partnership was the game changer,” said Virat Kohli, who praised the stunning display from Padikkal.
“Our bowlers did a magnificent job. The spinners were not able to get the grip. Once you get hold of conditions, they you back yourself. The message was very clear. We had to go for it. We didn’t have any doubts.
“The body language comes from the belief. We have guys who can hurt bowlers. We have the cricket smarts of Krunal. You can see in his bowling. The combination gives us a lot of confidence. We have the depth and the confidence in the group,” he added.
“We were happy to play here, it’s a special place to play cricket. It’s been brilliant to play at home and win four games. It has been a great start,” said Virat Kohli on the last game at Chinnaswamy.
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