Virat Kohli, the former captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, played a heroic innings to beat the table topper, Gujarat Titans. He scored a destroying 73 runs from 54 balls, which helped Royal Challengers Bangalore to chase the target successfully. Moreover, this victory gave hope to the RCB to qualify for the semifinals of the IPL. With 16 points, Royal Challengers Bangalore moved up to the top four. On the other hand, Gujarat Titans remain at the top of the table despite losing the match against the RCB.
Match Report
Hardik Pandya, the captain of Gujarat Titans, won the toss at the Wankhede Stadium and decided to bat first. So, Wriddhiman Saha and Shubhman Gill came on the pitch to start the innings for the Titans. Wriddhiman Saha was a bit aggressive on the crease. He tried to pick up some quick runs in the power-play. But, Shubhman Gill couldn’t let him make a long partnership. In 21 runs, Gujarat Titans lost their first wicket as Gill departed the pitch after scoring only one run.
Matthew Wade, the new batsman, also couldn’t stay longer. He had to go back to the pavilion in the sixth over. However, Wriddhiman Saha made a partnership of 24 runs with the skipper, Hardik Pandya. After that, Saha lost the wicket by being run out.
Gujarat’s captain made a very fruitful partnership with David Milner. They added 61 runs together on the scoreboard. However, Milner departed after scoring 34 for the team. But Pandya remained not out in 62 runs. Relying on these scores, Gujarat Titans set a target of 169 runs for the RCB.
Chasing the target, Royal Challengers Bangalore have had a brilliant start. Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis, the two openers of RCB, looked very aggressive on the pitch. In the opening partnership, both openers added 115 together on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, Du Plessis lost the wicket in the 15th over. After a while, Virat Kohli also departed. Before losing the wicket, Kohli scored a brilliant 73 runs for the team. However, Glenn Maxwell played a crucial innings at the last moment. He scored a destroying 40 off 18 balls, which helped the RCB to beat Gujarat Titans within 19 overs.