Who won yesterday’s IPL match? What happened during Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans clash

Gujarat Titans handed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) their first defeat in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. Opting to bowl first, Gujarat Titans restricted RCB to a below par 169/8 in 20 overs. Mohammed Siraj (3/19), Sai Kishore (2/22) and Prasidh Krishna (1/26) bowled 12 overs and took 6/67 between them. Jos Buttler and Sai Sudharsan continued their good run with the bat and delivered a comfortable eight-wicket victory for the 2022 champions.

Win toss, opt to bowl – half the job done

1. The chasing teams managed to win all five previous meetings in this nascent rivalry.
2. The previous instance of the toss-winning captain opting to bat first at the Chinnaswamy Stadium happened almost eight years ago.

The high correlation between points A and B meant that when Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill won the toss, he had no hesitation in asking RCB to bat first.

Mohammed Siraj’s powerplay exploits

The teams winning the powerplay managed to win seven of the previous eight games. Gujarat Titans bowlers managed to land three crucial blows in the powerplay, and they even got the fourth wicket, two balls into the seventh over. 

Mohammed Siraj (3/19) was the wrecker-in-chief, accounting for English opener Phil Salt and the local boy Devdutt Padikkal. The former RCB pacer produced the standout moment of the match in the 5th over. Phil Salt smashed Siraj’s 143.6 kmph ball to the stadium roof. The change of ball allowed Siraj to gather his thoughts and the response was fitting. 

Siraj’s fuller ball comprehensively crashed into the stumps. Virat Kohli failed to trouble the scores, making seven runs off six balls and got out to left-arm pacer Arshad Khan. RCB never recovered from the powerplay slump, making 38/3 in six overs.

Siraj later bowled an excellent 19th over, conceding just four runs and took the wicket of top-scorer Liam Livingstone (54 runs)

Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore’s contrasting days

The two spinners together bowled eight overs and took 2/76 between them. Well, that’s a misleading number. Rashid Khan registered his secon-worst figures (0/54) in IPL, conceding sive sixes, including three in one over. Sai Kishore on the other hand kept things really tight from his end, claiming two wickets for just 22 runs in 4 overs.

Buttler’s butter fingers and silky hands

Jos Buttler had a forgettable day behind the stumps. He dropped a straightforward chance in the very first over and gave life to his compatriot, Phil Salt, who was batting on 1 then. He also failed to collect the ball cleanly to effect the stumping against Liam Livingstone, another of his international teammates. Livingstone got the life on 21 and notched his maiden fifty for RCB. Rahul Tewatia also offered a chance to Livingstone on 9 runs.

However, the former England captain stroked a stylish fifty. He had a sedate start, scoring nine runs off the first 10 balls. Buttler, an IPL great with seven centuries effortlessly shifted through the gears and raced to his fifty in just 31 balls. He remained unbeaten on 73 off just 39 balls and climbed to third place in the orange cap race.

Sai Sudharsan continues his dream run

Sai Sudharsan agonisingly missed out his half century by a solitary run. He would have become the first Gujarat Titans batter to smash four consecutive fifty-plus scores. Sai Sudharsan brought his cut and pull shots to the fore, and played his trademark lap shot for a six.

The same lap shot resulted in his eventual dismissal, for a well-made 49. Sai Sudharsan (186 runs) trails LSG’s Nicholas Pooran by just 3 runs in the Orange Cap race.

What’s next for RCB and GT?

RCB play Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on April 7. Gujarat Titans will face Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday evening (April 6).

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