Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans, Match 34 Match Summary

What does Saturday have in store? April 25 brings the last double-header Saturday of the season. First up, it will be a battle of the north in the capital as the Delhi Capitals take on the unbeaten Punjab Kings. The first ball in Delhi will be bowled at 3.30 pm IST (10 am GMT). Later in the evening, the action will shift to Jaipur, where the Rajasthan Royals face the Sunrisers Hyderabad. That game will begin at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT). As always, you can join us early for the build-up. Until then, take care and goodbye!

As it stands - With this win, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru climb up to the second spot, with 5 wins in 7 games, including 4 wins in 5 matches at home in Bengaluru. They will play their remaining two home games in Raipur, but up next for them is a trip to Delhi to face the Capitals on Monday, 27th April. As for the Gujarat Titans, they remain 7th in the standings, having suffered their fourth defeat in 7 games. It is a quick turnaround for them as they travel to Chennai to take on the Super Kings on Sunday, 26th April, in the afternoon game.

Good win, scope to improve - The captain of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajat Patidar says there are plenty of learnings from the game. He is pleased with the way Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood started, and also highlights the execution of yorkers at the death. He adds that Suyash Sharma chipped in well too. Patidar mentions that restricting GT to around 200 felt like a good outcome and a total they can chase. Further says that the bowlers stuck to their plans in the final few overs, and the execution was spot on, which helped in pulling things back. Rajat says the way Jacob Bethell and Virat Kohli started was excellent and that set the tone. He also praises Devdutt Padikkal, calling his knock special. Admits they lost a flurry of wickets in the middle phase, which is something to reflect on. Patidar shares that there are learnings from this game, and the focus now is on identifying the errors and working to rectify them going forward.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH -  Virat Kohli wins the award for his stunning knock of 81 runs from 44 balls. He is also handed the Orange Cap. Kohli says they had to assess the conditions early on and felt they were just one partnership away. Adds that the idea was to stay in the game and keep analysing the situation. Virat acknowledges the brilliance of Devdutt Padikkal's innings, identifying it as the clear difference-maker that allowed him to stay focused on his own game while that crucial partnership changed the momentum in their favour. Kohli praises the bowlers for a magnificent performance despite the spinners struggling to find a grip on the surface, explaining that once a player understands the conditions, they can truly back themselves. Kohli mentions that the team's message was aggressive and free of doubt, with a collective belief that stems from having high-potential players who can put pressure on the opposition. Reckons that the power of Tim and Romario, combined with the cricket smarts of Krunal Pandya as a major source of confidence for the group, noting how the team's overall depth. VK concludes by praising the special atmosphere at the Chinnaswamy, which has contributed to their brilliant start of four home wins, and they are looking to come back and play again if they could later in the tournament.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

Set up well, finished short - After being asked to bat first, the Gujarat Titans' openers took their time early on before a flurry of boundaries from Sai Sudharsan got them going. He faced a major share of the balls in that 128-run opening stand with Shubman Gill and kept the scoreboard ticking at a healthy rate. Sai went on to notch up his third IPL ton, but his dismissal heading into the death overs stalled the momentum. From where GT were placed at 170/2 with 4 overs left, RCB pulled things back well, conceding just 34 runs in the final 4 overs. What could have been a 220-230 total ended up just past 200, and with the way this RCB outfit is set up, even that might not have been enough, but it certainly would have given GT a better chance of a win.

Let's now hear from one of RCB's stars - Devdutt Padikkal says that he has put a lot of effort into ball-striking, and it is good to see all of that come good. DDP adds that self-belief is something he needed, and the team management has inculcated that in him with the confidence they have shown in him. Padikkal reckons that it is important to play according to the situation, and in a chase over 200, Powerplay usage becomes key, and this is why they play with an aggressive intent up front. Devdutt concludes by saying that due to the batting depth they have, the top order has the liberty to play freely, and that's what they will be looking to do in the games ahead as well.

Lack of wickets in the middle phase hurt them - The skipper of the Gujarat Titans, Shubman Gill says that from 16th to 19th over, they couldn't get as many runs as they would have wanted, and that pulled the score back a bit. Gill reckons that the lack of wicket-taking in the middle phase is what has ultimately cost them this contest. Gill adds that when a batter gets dropped on zero, it is always a tough pill to swallow, but how a team comes back from that is what matters. Gill concludes by saying that when they were batting, the slower one was gripping a lot, and that is what compelled him to go with Suthar in the 18th over. Shubman credits Sai for his century, saying Sai wasn't all that happy about his dismissals in the previous game, and it was just about time that his runs came.

One chance too many - As they say, this game isn't played on what-ifs or what could have been, but on what you do in the moment. Virat Kohli was dropped on 0 in the first over, and he is the last man you want to give a chance to in a run chase. He quickly put that behind him, found his rhythm, and the Gujarat Titans were made to pay dearly. Jacob Bethell fell early, but Devdutt Padikkal got off the blocks quickly, and his 59-ball 115-run partnership with Kohli set up the chase nicely. RCB did lose a flurry of wickets towards the end as they tried to finish things off in a hurry. That gave GT a fleeting hope of conjuring something, but nothing more than that, as Tim David and Krunal Pandya joined hands to get the job done for the home side.

Royal entertainment in Bengaluru - The defending champions ace the chase in what was their final league stage game in Bengaluru. They were up against it for most of the innings with the ball, but did well to pull things back at the back end, and then their batters took care of the rest. As for the Gujarat Titans, they left a few runs out there with the bat, and that's something you can't afford against an RCB batting unit that packs so much punch.

Bouncer on middle and leg, Krunal gets his hands high and pulls this to deep backward square leg and scores the winning run. RCB has won their final league game of the season at Chinnaswamy by 5 wickets and 7 balls to spare.

FOUR! SCORES ARE LEVEL! Short again, on middle and leg, Krunal Pandya pulls this flat and into the gap between deep mid-wicket and deep square leg for four runs.

On a length, around middle and leg, Tim David slogs this off the inside half of his bat towards deep mid-wicket for a run.

RCB are just one biggie away now. Short and on middle and leg, Krunal Pandya fends this through square leg for one.

Slower one, around off, going across the batter. Krunal Pandya looks to cut this through backward point but misses out.

Quicker one, on middle and off, Krunal Pandya tucks this to the left of the bowler for a single.

SIX! A calculated shot from Krunal and he gets rewarded for his aggressive intent. Length dragged back a bit, on middle and off, Krunal Pandya slogs this over the fence towards the deep mid-wicket region for a biggie.

Darted onto the pads of Krunal and he jams this out.

Fired around off, Krunal Pandya pushes this towards extra cover.

FOUR! KRUNAL IS IN A HURRY! Fuller, on middle and off, Krunal Pandya goes down on a knee and slog sweeps this towards the right of deep mid-wicket for another boundary.

FOUR! Tossed up, around middle and off, Krunal Pandya gets right underneath it and smashes this up and over the bowler for a boundary in front of the sight screen.

Back of a length, around off, Tim David pokes at it but gets beaten on the outside edge.

SIX! Top edge, but it goes all the way. On a length, around off, Tim David keeps his head down and swings at it with all his might. The ball catches a top edge and flies over the fielder at third man for a six.

WIDE! A sharp bumper, way too high on the batter. Wided.

Hard length, around off, shaping a shade away from the power-hitter. Tim David looks to slog across the line but gets beaten.

Swing and a miss. Short and around leg, it was there for the taking. Tim David swings at it but misses out on a clean connection and gets rapped on the gloves.

Back of a length, around middle and off, Krunal Pandya plays this late and guides this to deep third for one run.

Good length, around middle and off, Tim David guides this to deep third for one.

Quicker one, on off, Tim David cuts this to sweeper cover for a single.

Pushed through on off, Tim David drives this to covers.