A sensational 41-ball century from Will Jacks and fifty from Virat Kohli helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru cruise to the target in just 16 overs against Gujarat Titans.
Chasing 201, RCB kicked off with intent. Both Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli went for early boundaries but the former fell shortly after. When Faf fell, RCB were 41/1 after four overs. However, unlike while batting first, Kohli showed his prowess as a chase master. He lofted Rashid Khan down the ground and even went after R Sai Kishore, hitting the spinner for two sixes.
Noor Ahmad, too, was not spared, with both Jacks and Kohli picking up boundaries.
Such was Kohli’s chasing skill that he raced to his fifty in 32 balls. At that point, RCB were 98/1 in ten overs. Jacks was batting on a run-a-ball 16. With regular boundaries coming over the next four overs, the duo added 50 runs. That is when Jacks went crazy.
Mohit Sharma was brought back and Jacks sent him to the ropes. He was just getting started. Three sixes and another four came in the over as Jacks and RCB took 29 off Mohit. Rashid was brought back but it had little effect. Jack hit 6, 6, 4, 6, and 6 and, in the process, got to a century and the total. RCB finished the match in 16 overs with nine wickets in hand.
Earlier, put into bat first, the Titans lost Wriddhiman Saha in the very first over. Shubman Gill struggled for rhythm while Sai Sudharsan got going. The left-hander picked up two fours off Swapnil Singh.
The boundaries were not coming at the other end for Gill, as the Titans could only manage 35/1 in the first five overs. Yash Dayal gave away only one, and with the pressure mounting, Gill tried to go after Glenn Maxwell, only to be caught by Cameron Green.
However, Sai Sudharsan, joined by Shahrukh, did not let that affect the run rate. The two Tamil Nadu batters hit the ground running as Sai Sudharsan went after Karn Sharma. Shahrukh, meanwhile, took down Maxwell with a four and a six as Titans got to 82/2 at the halfway mark.
In the next three overs, the duo piled on, adding 43 runs. Green, in particular, was at the receiving end as both batters got to their half-centuries. Mohammed Siraj came back to get rid of Shahrukh for 58 runs from 30 balls, but Sai Sudharsan held ground. The youngster ensured at least one boundary came every over, especially against Siraj and Maxwell.
When Green was brought back in the 18th over, the left-hander hit three consecutive fours—over cover once and midwicket twice. At this point, the Titans were 171/3 and needed a final push to cross the 200-run mark.
Sai Sudharsan welcomed Siraj with a six and David Miller too joined the party as 13 runs came off the penultimate over. Dayal delivered a quiet final over as the Titans finished with 200/3.
Brief scores: GT 200/3 in 20 ovs (Sudharsan 84 n.o, Shahrukh 58) lost to RCB 206/1 in 16 ovs (Jacks 100 n.o, Kohli 70 n.o).