AHMEDABAD, Apr 30:
Jason Holder was immense on the night, taking two wickets and three catches. Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler then backed his all-round prowess with handy cameos as Gujarat Titans sealed a nervy four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in an IPL match here on Thursday.
Holder’s two-wicket burst (2/29) and those sharp catches helped the Titans bowl out defending champions RCB for a modest 155 in 19.2 overs. But with Gill (43, 18b), Buttler (39, 19) and later Rahul Tewatia (27 not out, 17b) leading the charge, GT ended up at 158 for six in 15.5 overs.
RCB remained second in the table with 12 points, and GT too was static on fifth but added two valuable points to swell their tally to 10 after this game.
After the early departure of Sai Sudharsan, the Titans’ charge to victory started with Gill’s uncharacteristically aggressive knock of 43 off 18 balls (4×4, 3×6).
Taking on the new-ball attack, Gill hammered Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a four and a six before going after Josh Hazlewood, tearing into the Australian with three fours and two sixes in a 24-run over as GT raced to 36 without loss in just two overs.
On the other hand, Buttler, who was dropped on 1 by stumper Jitesh Sharma off Hazlewood, made RCB pay instantly. He scooped the very next ball cleanly for a six over fine leg and never looked back.
Buttler finished the powerplay in style with a four and a six as GT surged to 69 for 2.
He continued the charge after the field spread, smashing spinner Suyash Sharma for back-to-back sixes — one straight down the ground and another sliced over long-off — in a 17-run over.
But Gill fell to Bhuvneshwar as his powerful punch found Kohli inside the circle. The veteran pacer soon struck to jettison Buttler to cap a fine spell.
In the process, Bhuvneshwar reached 352 wickets, becoming only the second Indian bowler after Yuzvendra Chahal (391) to cross the 350-wicket mark in T20s.
Walking in at 111 for five in 10.3 overs, Holder gave a semblance of stability, launching a first-ball six off compatriot Romario Shepherd.
With the required rate never climbing beyond four an over, Holder and Tewatia kept it simple, before the Windies all-rounder got out for 12.
But Tewatia held his nerves to seal the chase as GT registered back-to-back wins.
Earlier, returning to the venue where they had lifted the title last season, RCB were cruising at a run rate in excess of 10 with Kohli leading the charge, smashing Kagiso Rabada for 21 runs in his opening over which included five fours in a row. (PTI)
Brief scores:
RCB: 155 all out in 19.2 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 40, Virat Kohli 28; Arshad Khan 3/22, Mohammed Siraj 1/38, Kagiso Rabada 1/44, Rashid Khan 2/19, Jason Holder 2/29).
GT: 158 for 6 in 15.5 overs (Shubman Gill 43, Jos Buttler 39; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/28, Romario Shepherd 2/30).
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