In the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024), Match 45 pits the Gujarat Titans (GT) against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Although both teams have had disappointing tournament starts thus far, RCB will be particularly dissatisfied with their standing in the standings.
With four victories in nine games, the hosts are now ranked seventh in the standings. With just two victories from nine games, the visitors, on the other hand, are at the bottom of the points table. The sole reason to celebrate for RCB is that they just emerged victorious against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who are a formidable opponent.
In contrast, Titans’ most recent game saw them lose by a slim margin of four runs to Delhi Capitals (DC). Notably, after a subpar 2024 campaign, RCB welcomed back all-around player Glenn Maxwell. Will Jacks, Cameron Green, Maxi, and skipper Faf du Plessis occupied the four spots, excluding foreign bowlers from their lineup.
IPL 2024: The first-inning highlight of Gujarat Titans’ match versus Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Match 45:
First wicket: 6-1 in 1 over for GT
Swapnil Singh of the RCB went up against Wriddhiman Saha to begin the attack. The left-arm spinner got his man in the final delivery of the over, but he gave up a boundary in the second ball. Short third man Karn Sharma had an easy time catching a tossed-up delivery outside off stump that Saha attempted to drive away from his body but failed to connect well.
Powerplay 1: Required Runs: 42, 1 Wicket: Overs: 0.1 to 6.0
Shubman Gill, the captain of GT, avoided being run out during a clean second over bowled by Mohammed Siraj. After giving up two boundaries and 11 runs in his second over, Swapnil let up 24 runs in three overs for GT. The Titans were down one wicket at 42 at the end of the first powerplay.
In the first strategic timeout, Shahrukh Khan (15* off 10) and Sai Sudharsan (31* off 21) helped the Gujarat Titans score 72/2 in 9.0 overs.
Reviving Glenn Maxwell proved to be a wise move as the Australian wicketkeeper dismissed Shubman Gill 16 (19) [4s-1] after striking in his opening over. Faf du Plessis chose to continue with the spin attack when introducing Karn Sharma at the other end. Sai Sudharsan hit back-to-back boundaries, and GT eventually got 12 runs off Karn after a few dry overs. Before taking a calculated breather, Shahrukh Khan joined in the fun as well, hitting Maxwell for a maximum and a four in his second over.
Gujarat Titans: 11.3 overs and 100 runs in 69 balls
Despite Gill and Saha’s lackluster performance, a strong partnership between the two guys from Tamil Nadu kept GT afloat. Immediately following the time-out, Shahrukh Khan gave Karn Sharma a six. In the first ball of the twelfth over, Sudarshan struck a six off Karn, initiating a 27-ball fifty partnership. Shahrukh broke the 100-run barrier for GT two balls after sending the ball into the stands.
Shahrukh Khan’s half-century, 24 balls to fifty
Shahrukh Khan achieved his first IPL half-century, proving that the choice to move him up the order was a wise one. In style, the right-hander reached his fifty by hitting Cameron Green for two fours and a six off the third ball of the 13th over. This Australian all-rounder gave up 17 runs.
Gujarat Titans score 138/3 in 15 overs with Sai Sudharsan (50* off 34) and David Miller (2* off 3) at the end of the second strategic timeout.
After being pulled back into the assault, Siraj removed the threatening Shahrukh Khan with a blow, 58 (30) [4s-3, 6s-5], with his first ball of the fifteenth over. Sudharsan, meanwhile, blasted his fifty-seven-ball century from the fifth ball in just 34 balls. The umpire called a second strategic timeout following the conclusion of the over.
150 runs in 16.1 overs (97 balls) for the Gujarat Titans
In his third over, Maxwell returned, and Sudharsan hit the former for six to get them closer to 150. With 150 runs on the board in the 17th over, Yash Dayal bowled a no-ball from the second delivery.
Gujarat Titans: 234/5 (20 overs) at the end of the first innings
With a full repertoire of classical strokes, Sai Sudharsan scored 84 runs off 49 balls. The hosts scored precisely 200 runs after scoring 44 runs in the final three overs. With a maximum off Yash Dayal, “Killer Miller” elegantly ended the innings.