Kohli, Devdutt explode to power RCB to five-wicket win over GT 

Bengaluru: Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli played quintessential T20 knocks of 55 and 81, respectively, trumping Sai Sudharsan’s century to power Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a five-wicket win over Gujarat Titans (GT) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Friday, April 24. 

Once Devdutt and Kohli added 115 runs for the second wicket in no time, RCB’s chase of 206 was right on track, which they eventually completed in 18.5 overs and moved to the second spot in the points table (10 points). 

The champion batter and his understudy tore apart GT bowlers after the early dismissal of Jacob Bethell in a mesmerising display of aggressive batting, in total contrast to the measured way their rivals went about gathering runs in the first innings. 

Kohli, who was dropped on zero by Washington Sundar off Mohammad Siraj, measured the bounce of the pitch to a nicety, tackling Prasidh Krishna and Kagiso Rabada with ease.

Prasidh was carted for two fours, Rabada was flicked away for a six and Rashid Khan, his eternal nemesis, was pulled over mid-wicket for a six as Kohli reigned at Chinnaswamy, reaching his fifty in 30 balls. 

At the other end, Devdutt was equally imperial, biffing Karnataka statemate Prasidh for a couple of sixes and Rashid too was dispatched for a maximum, fetching his fifty in 10 balls fewer than his senior.

It took a peach from Rashid to castle Devdutt, and Kohli, who till then read the bounce to perfection, ironically dragged a Jason Holder lifter onto his stumps.

It pushed RCB to a wobbly period as they lost skipper Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma as well, slipping to 173 for five.

But Krunal Pandya (23, 12b) and Tim David (10) carried them past the target from that point, as RCB signed off from their home venue with a victory. This was their fourth win at Chinnaswamy from five engagements this season. 

Earlier, Sudharsan produced a magnificent 100 that was an antithesis of T20 batting, but still strong enough to carry Gujarat to a competitive 205 for three.

In fact, the first 12.4 overs of the Titans’ innings were an antithesis of T20 batting, where the former champions proved that runs can be made in this format without hitting the ball in anger.

Sudharsan’s 58-ball knock, his third hundred in the IPL, was the cornerstone in GT’s trend-defying effort with the bat.

The left-hander totally dominated the 128-run alliance with his opening partner and captain Shubman Gill (32, 24b). Sudharsan consumed 29 balls in the Power Play segment against the latter’s seven.

The 24-year-old Tamil Nadu batter, who also became the fastest to score 2000 IPL runs in his innings, made 46 runs in Power Play, and then reached fifty off 33 balls in style, clobbering Romario Shepherd for a six.

The next fifty came at a faster clip – 24 balls – and it was a phase where he nullified RCB’s spin duo Krunal and Suyash Sharma.

Krunal tried his trademark bouncer to keep Sudharsan quiet, but the batter was equal to the task, upper cutting it over backward point for a six.

He followed that up with a boundary and a swept six off the same bowler as Patidar had to check for different options.

Gill’s dismissal did not alter the course of the match much, as Sudharsan, who was dropped on 91 by Suyash off his bowling, bled the RCB bowling silently.

Sudharsan got to his hundred with a single off Suyah but could not build on it further, giving a rather tame return catch to Josh Hazlewood.

He fell at an individual score of 100, precisely the total they made against the Mumbai Indians in a 99-run mauling a few days back.

But his departure, though, helped RCB pull back a bit in the death overs.

In the overs between 17 – GT were 174 for two at that stage – and 20, the Titans could garner only 31 runs, even that materialised because of Holder’s cameo (23 not out, 10b).