Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pressed the self-destruction button halfway but a blazing fifty by captain Faf du Plessis had enough torque in it to carry them to a four-wicket over Gujarat Titans (GT) match 52 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 in M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Du Plesiss (64, 23b, 10×4, 3×6) and Kohli (42, 27b, 2×4, 4×6), who added 92 runs in just 35 balls for the opening wicket, were in prime touch as Royal Challengers moved past a frail target of 148, braving some nervy moments, most of it their own creation.
Du Plessis and Kohli dealt in boundaries as the home side racked in 92 runs in Power Play, that contained 10 fours and seven maximums.
Both Du Plessis and Kohli were severe on all GT bowlers, as the latter began the butchering with two sixes off pacer Mohit Sharma in the first over.
Du Plessis was in no mood to play the role of a sidekick as he waded into left-arm pacer Josh Little with a sequence of 4, 6, 4, 4 in the second over that produced a total of 20 runs.
The Titans introduced IPL debutant left-arm spinner Manav Suthar in the hope of containing Kohli at least, but the ploy was foiled spectacularly.
The RCB talisman showed his increasing comfort against spin, clobbering Suthar for two successive sixes.
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RCB entered a phase of struggle from there as they lost last match centurion Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green between the sixth and 10th overs for just 20 runs.
Little (4/45) and spinner Noor Ahmad (2/23) were the chief perpetrators as RCB slipped from 92 for 1 to 112 for five.
Ahmad soon ousted Kohli as RCB were 117 for six but Dinesh Karthik (21 not out, 12b) was cool under pressure as RCB notched their overall fourth and third win in a row of this season.
IPL 2024: RCB vs GT Playing 11
RCB Playing 11:Â Â Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Will Jacks, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik(w), Karn Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, Vijaykumar Vyshak.
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs: Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Akash Deep, Rajat Patidar, Suyash Prabhudessai
GT Playing 11: Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, David Miller, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma, Joshua Little.