Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pulled off a dominant four-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 52 of the IPL 2024 season at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday (May 4).
Opting to bowl first, RCB bundled out GT for a below-par 147 in 19.3 overs. Mohammed Siraj starred with the ball as he dismissed the Gujarat openers and recorded the figures of 2/29 in his four overs. Yash Dayal (2/21) and Vijaykumar Vyshak (2/23) also claimed two wickets each.
Chasing the modest target, RCB got off to a blistering start as the duo of Faf du Plessis (64) and Virat Kohli added 92 runs for the opening wicket in just 35 balls.
Du Plessis's departure triggered a mini-collapse and the hosts found themselves in a spot of bother at 117/6. However, wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik (21*) and Swapnil Singh (15*) shared an unbroken 35-run stand to take RCB over the line with 6.2 overs to spare.
After the game, Player-of-the-Match Siraj said he was determined to play the match against GT despite not being on top of his health.
"I was actually sick since last night and wasn't going to play at all today, so this is great. When I got up this morning I thought it was better to rest but the almighty made me play. I kind of manifested it this morning because I envisioned it in a way that I would get Saha out like that, caught behind,” Siraj said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
The right-arm quick further stated said that he took time in finding his rhythm this IPL season, having not played white-ball cricket since the World Cup final against Australia last November.
“I had been playing red-ball cricket for long and hadn't played with the white ball since the ODI World Cup. So my rhythm was missing a little bit when I came here. But it came back gradually as I worked and practised more and more," Siraj added.
This was RCB's fourth win in 11 matches, which propelled them from last place to seventh on the points table, keeping their slim playoff hopes alive.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next face Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Thursday (May 9).
