At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, April 2, Gujarat Titans defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by an eight-wicket margin in Match 14 of the current Indian Premier League. The aforementioned margin represented GT’s second-largest chasing victory.
In the end, GT dominated the chase. By no means was it a perfect Chinnaswamy track. To cross the finish line with 13 deliveries remaining, the tourists, however, took better advantage of their batsmanship and lost fewer wickets. This was RCB’s first IPL 2025 defeat.
Talking Points
1. Liam Livingstone’s moment arrives at last
Liam Livingstone was undergoing a woefully lean patch ahead of the game. It was not limited only to the IPL. He had not scored a half-century in more than nine innings in white-ball cricket. However, he capitalised on his rather subdued start with the bat to make the most of his time at the crease. The highlight of his 54-run knock was Rashid Khan’s final over in which he struck three massive maximums off the leg-spinner.
2. Mohammed Siraj lights up former home venue with dazzling display
This was the first time Mohammed Siraj was playing against RCB at the Chinnaswamy after seven long seasons with the franchise. He showed no signs of nerves as he ran through Devdutt Padikkal and then Phil Salt. Not only did Siraj scalp the wicket of Livingstone on the penultimate over of the innings, he also conceded only four runs to end up with figures of 3/19 in four overs.
3. Jos Buttler’s blade cuts through RCB yet again
Jos Buttler came out to bat in the fifth over, replacing skipper Shubman Gill in the middle. He took nine deliveries to fetch his first boundary. However, from thereon, it was total domination by the wicketkeeper-batter. His enterprising knock 39-ball 73-run knock comprised five fours and six sixes. He became only the third batter in the IPL to have scored 500-plus runs at a 50-plus average and 150-plus strike rate against an opponent in the IPL.
Who Said What?
Mohammed Siraj, Player of the Match
I was a bit emotional. I was here for 7 years, changed jersery from red to blue and was emotional but once I got the ball I was fine. I am Ronaldo’s fan and hence the celebration. I had been playing consistently, but during the break I corrected my mistakes and worked on my fitness. Once I was picked up by Gujarat Titans, I spoke to Ashish bhai. He (Nehra) tells me to go enjoy your bowling and Ishu (Ishant) bhai tells me what line and length to bowl. My mindset is to have belief and then the pitch does not matter.
Shubman Gill, GT captain
We have seen on this ground; restricting them to 170 (169) was a good effort. The wicket has something in it sometimes; you can score 250 as well as get early wickets, there was something for the fast bowlers in the first 7-8 overs and we knew if we pick early wickets, then we are in the game. You are disapointed but you need to keep coming back, grab the next opportunity. We batted professionally considering the wicket. It is all about adapting to the situation and play according to that.
Rajat Patidar, RCB captain
Not 200, we were targeting around 190 after the powerplay, but losing early wickets harmed this match. I think the intent was good, but we shouldn’t have lost as many as 3 wickets in the PP, it was one wicket too many. The conditions did get better, the bowlers were amazing trying to defend this total, to take this chase into the 18th over was amazing to watch. The way Jitesh, Liam Livingstone, and Tim David, the way they batted, it was a positive for us. We’re confident about the batting line-up, they’re showing some positive intent which is very good for us.
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