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Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill, reflected on their defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their IPL 2024 clash on May 4. RCB secured a thrilling four-wicket victory over GT despite some late-innings wobbles. Openers Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli looked unstoppable, putting RCB in a dominant position with their aggressive batting. Du Plessis smashed a rapid fifty off just 18 balls before departing for 64. Kohli, on the other end, remained unbeaten on a brisk 34 runs from 15 balls. Thanks to Kohli and Du Plessis' cracking knocks, RCB raced to 100 runs within the first seven overs, losing just two wickets.
However, the chase took an unexpected turn as RCB lost a flurry of wickets which saw them reeling at 117/6. Despite the middle-order collapse, Dinesh Karthik displayed nerves of steel with a crucial cameo innings, guiding his team to victory with a comfortable 38 balls to spare. This win secures two valuable points for RCB in their IPL 2024 campaign.
Shubman Gill reveals turning point in RCB vs GT game
Meanwhile, after GT's four-wicket defeat, their skipper Shubman Gill revealed what was the turning point of the game.
“It all depends on the wicket, you see the first couple of overs. You get an idea and you play according to that. I think 170-180 on this wicket would have been a good total. I think how we batted in the powerplay and how we bowled in the powerplay, that made the difference. We would have an extra bowling option (had we not lost early wickets.) Never easy. It's important for us to start from zero (in the next game), need to move on. Many positives to take from this game, need to make sure we don't repeat our mistakes. It's all about winning everything we can from here on,” Gill said at the post-match press conference.
RCB bowlers keep GT batters in check
RCB bowlers rattled the GT' batting order, restricting them to a paltry 147 runs in their first innings. Winning the toss and electing to field first, RCB got off to a dream start with Mohammed Siraj dismissing both openers, Wriddhiman Saha (1) and Shubman Gill (2), within the first 10 runs.
GT's woes continued as they lost their in-form batsman Sai Sudharsan (6) to Cameron Green, leaving them at a precarious 23/3 – the lowest Powerplay score in IPL 2024 so far. While David Miller offered a brief fightback with a 20-ball 30, he was dismissed by Karn Sharma after being dropped earlier. Shahrukh Khan (37) looked promising but was run out thanks to a brilliant direct throw from Virat Kohli.
With five wickets down for just 86 runs, Gujarat Titans were in deep trouble. Their struggles continued with the dismissals of Rashid Khan (18) and Rahul Tewatia (37) in the same over by Yash Dayal. Despite some lower-order contributions, GT could only manage a paltry 147 runs, leaving themselves with a mountain to climb in the second innings.
This win has given RCB some sort of hope to make it to the IPL 2024's playoffs, which still looks like a near-impossible task as they will have to win all the remaining matches and depend on other teams for favourable outcomes.
RCB will next face Punjab Kings (PBKS) on May 9 while GT will lock horns with CSK on May 10.
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