IPL: RCB thrashes GT sparing 24 balls to keep Play-Off hopes alive

Ahmedabad: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) thrashed the Gujarat Titans (GT) by nine wickets and spared 24 balls here on Sunday. Match 45 of the Indian Premier League 2024 on the day was a must-win battle for RCB, as well as all their remaining league matches, to keep their Play-Off hopes alive.

And credit for the win goes to English allrounder Will Jacks, whose explosive batting (100 not out off just 41 balls) made it look like a cakewalk for the visitors on a wicket which was looking slow during the first half of the game.

Former India captain Virat Kohli, too, displayed some aggressive cricket to guide his team home as he smashed 70 off 44 balls. The former RCB captain was animated throughout the match as if he were on some mission. Kohli has faced a lot of social media trolls in recent times for his strike rate. But on Sunday, Kohli once again managed to silence his critics.

Even after the match, Virat was quick to share his thoughts with the commentator by saying, "All people who talk about strike rates and me not playing spin well talk about these things (numbers). It's just about doing my job... It's about us as cricketers having some self-respect."

Talking about the match, Will Jacks bludgeoned the GT bowlers for a 41-ball hundred and shared an unbeaten 166-run partnership with Kohli to help RCB stay alive in the race to the playoffs.

Kohli exploited the larger sections of the Narendra Modi Stadium to convert singles into twos efficiently. Particularly adept against spin, Kohli has amassed 43 runs from 23 balls after facing only nine deliveries of fast bowling in the Power-play.

Meanwhile, Will Jacks showcased his phenomenal batting prowess in the 15th over, targeting Mohit Sharma with relentless aggression, hammering him for two boundaries and three towering sixes.

Titans' hopes of containing him with Rashid Khan's leg-spin were dashed as Jacks continued his onslaught, smashing consecutive sixes and a boundary to swiftly secure a comprehensive victory for RCB with four overs to spare in the daunting 201-run chase.

Earlier, Sai Sudharsan (84) and M. Shahrukh Khan (58) struck brilliant fifties to help Gujarat score 200/3 in 20.

After being asked to bat first, the hosts didn't get a positive start as Wriddhiman Saha (5) and Shubman Gill (16) failed to impress on a slow-looking track. It was Swapnil Singh who got the first breakthrough for Bengaluru. He got the better of Saha in the very first over.

Gill then tried to build up a partnership with Sai Sudharsan. The duo managed to rotate the strike, and at the end of the first Power-play (6 overs), Gujarat scored 42/1. However, soon after that, comeback man Glenn Maxwell dismissed Gill to further jolt the Gujarat camp.

But a smart move by coach Ashish Nehra to send Shahrukh up the order proved fruitful. Shahrukh played some fearless cricket to guide his team to a better-looking total. He hit the ball in all parts of the stadium to cheer the crowd. Sai, too, made sure that Shahrukh got more of the strike as he was hitting the ball well. Shahrukh reached his 50 off 24 balls (3 x 4, 5 x 6).

And Sai took 34 balls to reach his fifty (5 x 4, 2 x 6).

Mohammed Siraj was then called in the 15th over, and he bowled Shahrukh out. David Miller (26) joined Sai, and he, too, looked a little unsettled at the wicket as the ball was coming slow on the bat. Sai hit some boundaries to pull back his side in the game.

Miller, in the last ball of the innings, smashed a six to guide his side to the 200-run mark.