Gujarat Titans beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by four wickets in IPL
Jason Holder’s all-round show helped Gujarat Titans defeat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by four wickets in an IPL match. Contributions from Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler ensured a comfortable chase after RCB were bowled out for 155
Ahmedabad: Jason Holder was immense on the night, taking two wickets and three catches. Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler then backed his all-round performance with handy cameos as Gujarat Titans sealed a nervy four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in an IPL match here on Thursday.
Holder’s two-wicket burst (2/29) and those sharp catches helped the Titans bowl out defending champions RCB for a modest 155 in 19.2 overs. But with Gill (43, 18b), Buttler (39, 19b) and later Rahul Tewatia (27 not out, 17b) leading the charge, GT ended up at 158 for six in 15.5 overs.
RCB remained second in the table with 12 points, while GT also stayed fifth but added two valuable points to take their tally to 10 after this game.
After the early departure of Sai Sudharsan, the Titans’ charge to victory started with Gill’s aggressive knock of 43 off 18 balls (4×4, 3×6).
Taking on the new-ball attack, Gill hammered Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a four and a six before going after Josh Hazlewood, hitting the Australian with three fours and two sixes in a 24-run over as GT raced to 36 without loss in just two overs.
On the other hand, Buttler, who was dropped on 1 by wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma off Hazlewood, made RCB pay instantly. He scooped the very next ball cleanly for a six over fine leg and never looked back.
Buttler finished the powerplay in style with a four and a six as GT surged to 69 for 2.
He continued the charge after the field spread, smashing spinner Suyash Sharma for back-to-back sixes, one straight down the ground and another sliced over long-off, in a 17-run over.
But Gill fell to Bhuvneshwar as his powerful shot found Kohli inside the circle. The veteran pacer soon struck again to dismiss Buttler and cap a fine spell.
In the process, Bhuvneshwar reached 352 wickets, becoming only the second Indian bowler after Yuzvendra Chahal (391) to cross the 350-wicket mark in T20s.
Walking in at 111 for five in 10.3 overs, Holder gave a semblance of stability, launching a first-ball six off compatriot Romario Shepherd.
With the required rate never climbing beyond four an over, Holder and Tewatia kept it simple before the Windies all-rounder got out for 12.
But Tewatia held his nerves to seal the chase as GT registered back-to-back wins.
Earlier, returning to the venue where they had lifted the title last season, RCB were cruising at a run rate in excess of 10 with Kohli leading the charge, smashing Kagiso Rabada for 21 runs in his opening over, which included five fours in a row.
But Gill persisted with his strike bowler and the call paid off handsomely.
Rabada (1/38) struck back to remove Kohli for a blazing 28 off 13 balls, triggering a collapse as RCB lost wickets in a cluster through the middle phase.
Left-arm pacer Arshad Khan wrapped up the tail and returned with 3/22.
From a strong 71/2 after seven overs, RCB slipped to 96/6 in 10.3 overs, losing Rajat Patidar (19), Jitesh Sharma (1), Tim David (9) and Krunal Pandya (4).
However, RCB stuck to their attacking approach despite the slide, which seemed to have cost them 20-30 extra runs, and they were bowled out in 19.2 overs.
Amid the collapse, Devdutt Padikkal looked set to anchor the innings, with Romario Shepherd playing second fiddle.
But the ever-reliable Rashid Khan produced a fine delivery to clean up Devdutt for 40 (24 balls), a skidding ball that cramped him for room and led to a chop-on. The Afghan returned with figures of 2/19.
But the star of the show was Holder, who dismissed Shepherd and Jitesh, besides taking excellent catches to remove Patidar, David and Krunal.
Holder first pulled off a brilliant running catch near the deep square boundary to dismiss Patidar, holding on to the skier despite almost colliding with Rabada.
He then dismissed Jitesh before completing two smart catches at short midwicket to remove David and Krunal, capping an outstanding all-round effort.
The other standout moment was the Kohli vs Rabada contest. Kohli smashed the Proteas pacer for five successive boundaries.
He began with a pull through midwicket, followed by a punch through mid-off, a crisp square drive and a stylish cut through backward point.
Kohli then hit Mohammed Siraj for a flat six over mid-on to race to 28 off just 10 balls.
But Rabada had the final say. Tightening his line, the South African forced Kohli into a mistimed pull when he charged down, and Rashid completed a good catch.
