Bengaluru, April 25. Thanks to half-centuries from Virat Kohli (81) and Devdutt Padikkal (55), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Gujarat Titans by five wickets with seven balls to spare in the 34th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday.
With this victory, RCB moved to second place in the points table. Chasing a target of 206 runs, RCB lost their first wicket in the third over when Mohammed Siraj dismissed Jacob Bethel (14). Following this, the partnership between Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal stabilized the innings, accumulating runs quickly.
The duo shared a second-wicket partnership of 115 runs. Rashid Khan ended this partnership by dismissing Devdutt Padikkal in the 13th over. Padikkal scored 55 runs off 27 balls, hitting two fours and six sixes.
In the next over, Jason Holder bowled out Virat Kohli, who was approaching a century. Kohli scored 81 runs off 44 balls, hitting eight fours and four sixes. These two batsmen had brought the team close to victory.
However, after the fall of captain Rajat Patidar (8) and Jitesh Sharma (10), RCB faced a crisis. Subsequently, the partnership between Krunal Pandya and Tim David played cautiously to ensure RCB's victory. RCB finished their innings at 206 runs for the loss of five wickets in 18.5 overs.
Krunal Pandya remained unbeaten on 23 runs off 12 balls, hitting three fours and one six, while Tim David scored an unbeaten 10 runs off nine balls. For Gujarat Titans, Rashid Khan took two wickets, while Mohammed Siraj, Jason Holder, and Manav Suthar each took one wicket. Earlier, Sai Sudharsan's explosive batting (100) helped Gujarat Titans set a massive score of 205 runs for three wickets against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first. The opening pair of Sai Sudharsan and captain Shubman Gill added 128 runs for the first wicket, giving their team a strong start. SuYash Sharma broke this partnership by dismissing Shubman Gill in the 13th over.
Gill scored 32 runs off 24 balls, hitting two fours and one six. In the 16th over, Josh Hazlewood caught and bowled Sai Sudharsan, who had scored a century. Sudharsan made 100 runs off 58 balls, hitting 11 fours and five sixes.
In the 18th over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Jos Buttler, giving RCB their third wicket. Buttler scored 25 runs off 16 balls, hitting two fours and one six. In the final over, Jason Holder hit two sixes and a four, scoring one run to take Gujarat's score past 200 runs.
Gujarat Titans set a massive score of 205 runs for three wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Jason Holder scored an unbeaten 23 runs off 10 balls, while Washington Sundar remained not out on 19 runs off 12 balls. For RCB, SuYash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar each took one wicket.
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