All-round Gujarat Titans drub RCB for second win on the bounce

In a nutshell

In what was arguably their most below-par performance since the start of IPL 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru endured a four-wicket hammering at the hands of Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Thursday (April 30). Having mustered just 155 on the board, RCB were subjected to a stunning Shubman Gill onslaught that shut them out of the game, handing the defending champions their third defeat of the season.

The match in phases

Brief Scores:Royal Challengers Bengaluru 155 in 19.2 overs [Devdutt Padikkal 40 (24); Arshad Khan 3-19, Rashid Khan 2-19, Jason Holder 2-29] lost to Gujarat Titans 158/6 in 15.5 overs [Shubman Gill 43 (18), Jos Buttler 39 (19); Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-28, Romario Shepherd 2-30] by 4 wickets.

Who won GT the match?

A collective bowling display led by Arshad Khan's three-fer and Jason Holder, who bagged a couple of wickets. Rashid Khan put a couple of ordinary games behind him to turn in a neat spell of his own as RCB were bowled out before they could bat out their quota of 20 overs.

A short but entertaining Kohli blitz

A 90,865-strong crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium was treated to some masterful Virat Kohli strokes early in the piece, with the veteran batter taking the attack to Kagiso Rabada in the second over. Peeling off five consecutive boundaries, a loft off a good length over mid-off, a cut through backward point and a drive through cover point underlined Kohli's irrepressible form this season which seemingly extended into this contest.

He stepped out and slammed Mohammed Siraj over long on as well and the fact that he was beaten first ball before nearly playing onto his stumps right after seemed a distant past away. But Rabada then shoved one into the pitch as Kohli stepped out and top-edged a pull, handing Rashid Khan a tumbling catch at mid-wicket.

But how did RCB's batting come apart?

It wasn't the pitch per se. Rashid extracted turn, but the damage was done well before he made an impact as RCB's batters fell to tame shots aplenty. So much so that as many as four batters including Kohli found the short mid-wicket fielder. RCB lost just two wickets in the Powerplay but Rajat Patidar looked far from comfortable as Rabada kept him quiet, while also getting one to kick off a short length as the leading edge somehow evaded the fielder in the deep third man region.

Patidar's wicket did court some controversy, as Jason Holder pulled off a stunning catch at deep square leg while avoiding a collision with Rabada. The TV umpire declared Patidar out although replays showed that the ball may have made contact with the ground, bringing into question whether he was in complete control of the catch or not. Holder was everywhere though, dismissing Jitesh Sharma before taking another catch at short mid-wicket as Tim David slogged a Rashid delivery. Only Devdutt Padikkal put up some kind of a fight with his 40, with impact substitute Venkatesh Iyer also enduring a rusty stay.

An off-day for RCB

And there were multiple moments that signified this. Josh Hazlewood's dismissal was one, as he narrowly escaped a run out at the striker's end - only to try and steal a bye on the ricochet and find himself short at the non-striker's end. There was a desperate review in the third over but the replays confirmed a clear gap between bat and ball. To top it all was an overthrow from Kohli that turned a single into five, while Jitesh dropped Buttler on 1, summing up a rare day where a lot went wrong for RCB.

Gill destroys Hazlewood in the Powerplay

With a modest target in front of him, Shubman Gill took no prisoners, smashing a six in Bhuvneshwar Kumar's opening over after a fortuitous boundary. But it was against Josh Hazlewood that he truly imposed himself, slamming three fours and two sixes as he unleashed his full repertoire of strokes in the second over. All this with Kohli chirping away close by in a high-intensity battle. Such was the manner in which Gill middled the ball that even the ball he got out to, he smashed it, only to pick out Kohli at cover. Jos Buttler then tore into Hazlewood, who conceded 49 in his three Powerplay overs before finishing with 0/56.

Was there a twist though?

Bhuvneshwar bagged his fifth three-wicket haul of the season, removing the top three, even as Buttler's cameo put the chase beyond doubt. That was until Romario Shepherd's double-strike in the 11th over left the door slightly ajar for RCB. The calm heads in Rahul Tewatia and Jason Holder put together a brisk 30-run stand and while Holder perished to Suyash Sharma, Tewatia and Rashid Khan got the job done with plenty of deliveries to spare. Surprisingly, Krunal Pandya did not bowl, especially with RCB hamstrung with options having subbed in a batter.

Where do the teams head next?

GT stay home to host Punjab Kings on Sunday (May 3). RCB enjoy a six-day break before they face Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow next Thursday (May 7).