IPL 2022, RCB vs GT, Top Performances: Virat Kohli's 73, Glenn Maxwell's 40* & 1-28 and Hardik Pandya's 67* are top three performances. RCB beat GT and move to 4th place.
Brief Scores: RCB 170/2 (Kohli 73, Du Plessis 44, Rashid 2-32) beat GT 168/5 (Hardik 62, Miller 34, Hazlewood 2-39) by eight wickets.
Player of the Match: Virat Kohli (73 runs in 54 balls)
Inconsistent Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who had one last chance to fight for a playoff spot, locked horns with table-toppers Gujarat Titans (GT), who have already qualified for the playoffs, at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday evening.
In their previous outing, an all-round show from the Titans helped them edge past Bangalore by six wickets.
In the 100th IPL game at the Wankhede, Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bat first with an aim to develop their skills in setting a total. While Gujarat rested Alzarri Joseph bringing in Lockie Ferguson, Bangalore left out Mohammed Siraj in place of Siddarth Kaul.
All-round RCB kept themselves alive, only just though, in the season
Gujarat went off to a flying start courtesy Wriddhiman Saha’s free-flowing batting before losing opener Shubman Gill. Mathew Wade found himself on the wrong side of an unfortunate DRS decision before captain Hardik Pandya and David Miller stitched a 61-run partnership to settle the Titans.
Meanwhile, RCB received a blow with the finger injury of Harshal Patel as GT cashed in with 34 runs in the last two overs thanks to a 15-ball 36 run stand between half-centurion Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan to propel them to 168/5 in 20 overs.
RCB began the chase in the best possible way with an opening partnership of 115; their saviour Virat Kohli got his lost mojo back as he deposited a 33-ball fifty before Glen Maxwell coming late into the innings with an 18-ball unbeaten 40 carried Bangalore to a much-needed victory.
Let’s take a look at the top performances from the game between RCB and GT, IPL 2022.
Half-centurion Hardik Pandya anchored Titans to a respectable score
Asked to bat first, Gujarat lost their opener Shubman Gill after a flying start as captain Hardik Pandya, who after a splendid start in the tournament, had lost his sharpness with just 56 runs in the last six innings, walked into the middle.
Hardik, who before tonight had 504 runs in 31 innings at the Wankhede Stadium with a strike rate of around 145, began cautiously before a dropped catch at the fence gifted him his second six of the evening. He built a decent 61-run stand for the fourth wicket with David Miller, before reaching his fourth fifty of the season in 42 balls.
Hardik, who now has 298 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 149.7 against RCB, went into wild mode in the last few overs with boundaries to push Gujarat to 168/5. With this 62*, Hardik Pandya now has 413 runs in 13 games in TATA IPL 2022.
Read More: IPL 2022, CSK vs GT, Top Performances: Shami 2-19, Saha 67* ensure Top Two finish for Gujarat
Fired up Kohli gets his form back with cracking fifty
Chasing 169 under pressure, RCB needed their openers providing them a good start and that too at a great rate; undoubtedly, they wanted to see their King Kohli getting back in form. Well, they ticked both the boxes.
Virat Kohli has been going through a very rough phase and that look at the heaven with both hands asking for some sort of respite in the last game did draw the situation he found himself in. But he began positively on Thursday, with free-flowing batting in the chase with five fours besides getting good support from Faf du Plessis as RCB cracked 55/0 in the powerplay. Kohli reached 34 off 23 in the powerplay.
He kept the onslaught going and with a six hoisted over deep mid-wicket, Kohli notched up his second fifty against Gujarat Titans in the IPL in just 33 balls. The celebration and the emotion with the crowd chanting in Wankhede delivered a pleasant atmosphere. In the process, he also became the first person to score 7,000 T20 runs for a single team (RCB).
The opening pair reached their second century stand of the season and the major contribution was from Kohli with 56 in 40 balls. Even though, he was dismissed on 73 in 54 balls, he ensured RCB will remain alive. With this knock, Kohli now has 570 runs in 16 innings at an average of 51.8 at the Wankhede.
Read More: IPL 2022, PBKS vs RCB, Top Performances: Bairstow 66, Livingstone 70, Rabada 3-21 keep Punjab afloat
All-round Maxwell powered RCB to vital victory
Glenn Maxwell displayed all the skills in the game against the Titans. Early in the innings, he grabbed a stunning catch at first slip to send back opener Shubman Gill before inflicting another damage with the ball. He got rid of good-looking Matthew Wade to an unfortunate DRS decision and finished the powerplay with figures of 1-2 in two overs including a maiden.
Maxwell arrived late in the innings when Bangalore were batting as they still required 54 runs in 33 balls. Maxwell felt himself the luckiest person as his first ball went for four after disturbing an unmoved bail. He then took on Hardik Pandya with 17 runs in just five balls consisting of two sixes and a four before slapping Dayal for another boundary.
Maxwell finished the job with three more boundaries against Lockie Ferguson as Bangalore won the game by eight wickets thanks to Maxwell’s unbeaten 40 in 18 balls.
Read More: IPL 2022, GT vs LSG, Top Performances: Shubman's well-measured 63* takes GT into playoffs
TATA IPL 2022 Points Table
Qualification Scenarios IPL 2022
Gujarat, even after this loss, will play the first qualifier at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on May 24, while RCB kept themselves alive, just about, with this victory. To qualify for the playoffs spot, they still want Delhi Capitals (DC) to lose against Mumbai Indians (MI) on May 21. With RCB’s win, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) have been eliminated from the playoffs race.
What’s to Come
Rajasthan Royals will meet Chennai Super Kings at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on May 20. The game will be vital for a top two finish for the Royals.
Top Twitter Reactions from RCB vs GT, Match 67, TATA IPL 2022:
Virat Kohli's match-winning 73 against GT received a lot of accolades across the cricket fraternity on twitter.
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