Virat Kohli was in the thick of things throughout the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL 2024 match against Gujarat Titans on Saturday. Before even the math begun, Kohli was criticised by Sunil Gavaskar for some strong comments on cricket experts. Then when RCB chased a low total of 148, Virat Kohli scored 42 off just 27 balls to help his team win. He was also involved in a stupendous fielding effort that saw him run out GT's Shahrukh Khan. The effort was so good that even Kohli's RCB teammate Cameron Green was shocked.
It happened as Rahul Tewatia sent back Shahrukh who was trying to steal a single. But Kohli grabbed the ball with amazing alacrity and his one0handed throw hit the stumps.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru pressed the self-destruction button halfway but a blazing fifty by captain Faf du Plessis had enough torque in it to carry them to a four-wicket over Gujarat Titans in their IPL match here on Saturday.
Du Plessis (64, 23b, 10x4, 3x6) and Kohli (42, 27b, 2x4, 4x6), who added 92 runs in just 35 balls for the opening wicket, were in prime touch as Royal Challengers moved past a frail target of 148, braving some nervy moments, most of it their own creation.
The win also lifted RCB to seventh place on the table with eight points from 11 matches, and kept their mathematical chances of making it to the play-offs alive.
Before RCB batsmen joined the party, their bowlers came up with an immaculate effort on a supportive pitch to bowl GT to a modest 147.
There were a couple of good partnerships – 61 between David Miller and Shahrukh Khan and 44 by Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan – but the Titans lacked that one big innings or a stand that could have given them a firmer grip on the match.
In fact, they seemed distinctly incapable of accelerating even in the Power Play as their top-order batters struggled against RCB pacers, Mohammed Siraj (2/29) and Yash Dayal (2/21) who stuck to a wonderful length.
That GT managed to strike just two fours in Power Play offered ample evidence to their struggle and RCB bowlers' accuracy.
With PTI inputs