Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stayed alive in the IPL 2024 playoffs race for another day after registering a dominant four-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday (May 4).
This was RCB's third successive win and fourth in 11 matches, which propelled them from last place to seventh on the points table, featuring 10 teams.
Opting to bowl first, RCB bundled out GT for a below-par 147 in 19.3 overs. Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal (2/21) and Vijaykumar Vyshak (2/23) starred with the ball, claiming two wickets each.
In reply, 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. Since the required run-rate was in check, wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik (21*) and Swapnil Singh (15*) batted sensibly and shared an unbeaten partnership of 35 runs to take RCB over the line with 6.2 overs to spare.
After the game, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis said that the team's mantra is to not look at the scoreboard and play the way they want to play.
"Been really good the last few games, the way we've played with bat and ball. Aggressive with the bat, unbelievable in the field. [Assessment of conditions] There was more bounce in the wicket, we got that information and the bowlers were consistently really good. We dropped a catch but have been really consistent. Something around 180-90 would have been a good score, but we've seen the way the game has changed," Du Plessis said in the post-match interaction.
"Don't look at the scoreboard and play the way that we want to play. It was a bit nerve-racking, another wicket, another wicket. Probably not the best but you're trying to be positive, get your NRR up. It makes sense from that point of view but it gets to the point when you need to show a bit of calmness and composure - probably around four down, so some lessons to be learned from that," he added.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next face Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Thursday (May 9).
