In the 67th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat Gujarat Titans (GT) by eight wickets at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
After winning the toss, Hardik Pandya asked RCB to bowl first. The Bangalore based team started off well with the ball as they got two early wickets in the powerplay. Josh Hazelwood, who got belted for too many runs in the last match, bowled exceptionally well tonight. Along with him, Glenn Maxwell and Wanindu Hasaranga also found their names in the wickets department. Such strong bowling performance helped RCB restrict GT to a total of 168/5 in 20 overs.
In the chase, both the openers began well for RCB. Virat Kohli (73) was sensational with the bat as he smashed a fifty once again in this year’s IPL. The chase master hammered eight fours and four sixes in his inning which helped him regain his lost touch. Along with him, captain Faf Du Plessis (44) also scored important runs at the beginning which made the middle-order batter’s job quite easy. The opening duo put up 115 runs together for the first wicket partnership. Later on, Glenn Maxwell (40*) took the innings forward and bought home two points comfortably for the RCB. Striking at over 200, Maxwell finished the game in just 19 overs which helped RCB’s NRR also to get better.
In the first innings, Wriddhiman Saha (31) got a good start but failed to capitalise on it. Pandya (62*) was the only batter who survived the whole innings which eventually helped the Gujarat based team to reach just around the par score of 168/5.
Josh Hazelwood looked in fine touch with the ball as he grabbed two wickets tonight. Maxwell and Hasaranga also managed to pick one wicket each.
For GT, it was only Rashid Khan who picked two wickets in the second innings.
Virat Kohli was adjudged Man of the Match for his outstanding display with the bat. With this win, RCB have once again regained the fourth position on the points table and now will hope that Delhi Capitals (DC) lose their game against Mumbai Indians (MI) as for then, the du Plessis-led team will advance to the playoffs.
Scorecard:
Gujarat Titans: 168/5, Overs 20, Hardik Pandya 62*, Josh Hazelwood 2/39
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 170/2, Overs 18.4, Virat Kohli (73), Rashid Khan 2/32