When Virat Kohli struck five consecutive boundaries off Kagiso Rabada in the second over on Thursday, it seemed Royal Challengers Bengaluru were in a punishing mood. And Gujarat Titans would have to chase down a pretty imposing target at home.

But Rabada bounced back to dismiss Kohli before Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan and Jason Holder struck at regular intervals to restrict RCB to a modest 155. Captain Shubman Gill (43 off 18 balls) and Jos Buttler (39 off 19 balls) followed it up with breezy knocks that eventually guided the Titans to a crucial four-wicket win with 25 balls to spare at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

If RCB had to win, they needed their two best bowlers — Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood — to make early inroads. Bhuvneshwar fared well with 3/28, including the wickets of Gill and
Jos Buttler, but not before copping a blow or two from the Titans captain.

Gill, in fact, was severe on Hazlewood, taking the attack straightaway to the Australian pacer. The rate at which both Gill and Buttler scored, the Titans could still make their way home even after bit of a wobble in the middle.

Severe dents

Even after Kohli hammered Rabada, Gill continued with the South African pace spearhead. Vindicating his skipper’s faith, Rabada got his length right as he saw Kohli advancing down the track. He cramped the former RCB captain up for room and induced a mishit that was smartly taken by Rashid.

That was the only wicket for Rabada, but following Kohli’s departure, RCB couldn’t quite get back on track in spite of another impressive innings from the in-form Devdutt Padikkal (40 off 24 balls). From 79/2 in the eighth over, they slumped to 96/6 in the 11th over, as Rashid dismissed Tim David and then knocked Padikkal over with perfect length.

Left-arm quick Arshad (3/22), in only his second appearance in this IPL, sent back RCB skipper Rajat Patidar on way to his best bowling figures in the competition.

Wickets & catches

All-rounder Jason Holder, too, had a huge role in the Titans’ victory. The former West Indies skipper struck twice, conceding only 29 runs in his four overs — dismissing keeper-batter Jitesh Sharma with a well-disguised slower one, and then having his Windies teammate Romario Shepherd perish at the deep.

Holder’s catching prowess was just as good, especially the one he took to dismiss Patidar off Arshad’s delivery. Avoiding a possible collision with Rabada at the long-leg region, Holder kept his eyes on the ball and pouched it. Credit also goes to Gill for having Holder positioned in the right areas, as he also took catches to dismiss David and Krunal.