Mumbai: Royal Challengers Bangalore kept their playoff chances alive with a convincing 16-run win against Gujarat Titans, with Virat Kohli leading the way in a brilliant chase.
Kohli had a few overs to establish his bearings before expressing his intentions against Mohammed Shami with lofts straight down and past the covers. When his flick against Hardik Pandya was taken down by Rashid Khan at deep square leg, he got lucky. Kohli, on the other hand, continued to bat with the same zeal in the powerplay, lofting Rashid and pulling Yash Dayal for 34 runs in RCB’s 49-run powerplay. It set the tone for Kohli’s confidence-boosting 73, his best in the IPL 2022, which included emotive fist pumps and a 115-run partnership with Faf du Plessis.
Du Plessis, too, got crucial boundaries right through the first stand, allowing RCB to stay near to the needed pace for the most part. But, when Rashid bagged both him and Kohli in the second half, Glenn Maxwell’s cameo propelled RCB forward. With 49 needed off the final five balls, Maxwell got right to work, hitting Pandya for two fours and a six before continuing in the same spirit for the rest of his 18-ball 40, which helped Gujarat beat their target of 168 by 8 runs.
While Upon electing to bat, Gujarat Titans had a roller-coaster ride the entire way. Shubman Gill was caught at slip by Glenn Maxwell, while Matthew Wade was given a dubious LBW call despite using the DRS. Wade was sent back for 16 after the third umpire missed a heavy inside edge. Gujarat were 62/3 in the ninth over as Wriddhiman Saha’s cameo ended in a run-out due to some miscommunication.
With a brisk 61-run partnership, GT skipper Hardik Pandya and David Miller turned the batting around, with the latter hitting three sixes against the spinners. Pandya batted well throughout the innings, just holding the innings together with his 62.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-0-25-1), who also returned Miller with a brilliant grab, had kept the run rate under control for RCB. He played a key role in the second half of the innings as Gujarat readied for a charge, as he always does. Harshal Patel, RCB’s other end-overs specialist, fractured the webbing on his right palm and was unable to bowl more than his single over at this time. Pandya and Rashid Khan cashed in on some average lengths and reached the boundaries in the last two of overs, yielding 34.
Brief Scores:Gujarat Titans 168/5 in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 62) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 170/2 in 18.2 overs (Virat Kohli 73, Faf du Plessis 46, Glenn Maxwell 40*) by 8 wickets.
