Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) grabbed their third win in a row in the IPL 2024 by defeating Gujarat Titans (GT) by four wickets on Saturday, May 4. Chasing a modest target of 148, RCB cruised to victory in just 13.4 overs, finishing at 152/6. The chase started strong with a fiery opening partnership between Faf du Plessis (64 runs) and Virat Kohli (42 runs). However, a middle-order wobble saw them lose wickets quickly, dropping from a comfortable 92/1 to a shaky 117/6. Just when things were getting tense, Dinesh Karthik (21* runs) and Swapnil Singh (15* runs) stepped up with a crucial unbeaten partnership to seal the win for RCB. Earlier, the RCB bowlers finally found their rhythm, restricting Gujarat Titans to a score of just 147 all out in 19.3 overs. Yash Dayal, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, and Mohammed Siraj were the bowling stars, picking up two wickets each.
Ajay Jadeja takes a dig at RCB's playoff chances
Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja, on JioCinema, offered an analogy for RCB's win. He said they're showing signs of improvement but still have a long way to go.
"The chinks in the armour are visible, what happened at the end. But the chance is there. They're off the ventilator but they're still in the ICU. We are excited about today's match after seeing Virat and Faf bat. But the real work that was done, was by the bowlers, an aspect RCB has historically struggled at," he said.
Jadeja credited their success to the bowling unit finally performing well this season.
"The bowling department has started to click for them now, and we're talking about the business end of the season, this is the point where realistic chances of winning comes from momentum," Jadeja added.
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Even with the win, Jadeja felt it was too early to say for sure if RCB would make the playoffs.
"More than momentum, it's about the mentality of the team where you know if you're in a bad situation, someone will take you out of it... Today, it seemed like RCB picked the right road while Gujarat was on the other side. Who will reach their goal? It's a very tough ask still," he further added.
Jadeja singled out Faf du Plessis' batting as the game-changing factor, crediting his approach for RCB's victory.
"They came into the game differently from the start. I haven't checked the statistics, but I have never seen them start a game with a six. Not one, but two of them, in the first over, when there was no need. What Faf did, he was operating at a different pace. Later, there was some excitement in the match but at no point did it seem like this was (GT win) going to be successful," Jadeja concluded.
Riding a two-game win streak, RCB has climbed to seventh place in the standings with 8 points from 11 matches (4 wins, 7 losses). They'll look to keep the momentum going when they face Punjab Kings next on Thursday, May 9.
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