Dinesh Karthik and Swapnil Singh came to the rescue of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their IPL 2024 clash against Gujarat Titans on Saturday. Chasing a under-par 148 after GT were bowled out for 147, RCB were cruising at 92/0 in 5.5 overs with Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli putting on a show in the Powerplay. However, RCB suffered a mid-innings slump, losing six wickets in the space of 25 runs, with Joshua Little and Noor Ahmad sharing five between them.
While RCB appeared to be slipping away, unbeaten cameos from Karthik (21) and Swapnil (15) took the team to their third successive win of the season, and two in a comeback against GT after last weekend’s success in Ahmedabad.
There was a party atmosphere in Bengaluru after the match as batsman and former RCB captain Kohli recalibrated CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s orange cap.
Kohli, who hit 42 on Saturday, now has 542 runs in 11 matches, with Gaikwad (509) in action for CSK against the Punjab Kings on Sunday.
Karthik returned the orange cap to Kohli after the match, and the latter showed a respectful gesture to the former, bowing to the former before the two embraced.
A video of the same has already gone viral on social media.
Consistency is king, and King Kohli proves it once again, be it in health, fitness or on-field performance!
The King returned to being the Orange Cap Holder.#ViratKohli #RCBvGT #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/ACY9uhsXVA
-Duroflex (@Duroflex_world) May 4, 2024
Coming back to the game, the exit of Du Plessis (64) sparked a collapse as Gujarat hit back with wickets of Joshua Little and Noor Ahmad to put the opposition in trouble at 117-6 as Kohli was dismissed.
Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green died cheaply before Karthik and Swapnil ensured there was no more drama as they guided the team home on an unbeaten 35.
Previously put into bat, Gujarat lost three for 19 inside six before big-hitting Shahrukh Khan, who top-scored with 37, held strong in a 61-run stand with David Miller, who hit 30 off 20 balls.
The victory allowed RCB to climb out of the bottom of the table. They are currently seventh in the points table with three games remaining.
Left-hander Rahul Tewatia smashed a 21-ball 35 and put up another important stand with Rashid Khan to add respect to the total.
(With AFP inputs)
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