CHENNAI: Captain Faf du Plessis hit a 23-ball 64 while Virat Kolhi cracked 27-ball 42 to keep Royal Challengers Bengaluru's slim playoff chances alive in the ongoing IPL.
Chasing 148 for victory against Gujarat Titans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, Faf was dealing in boundaries as RCB accumulated an impressive 92 runs in the powerplay. His 28-minute stay at the crease involved 10 fours and 3 sixes before he was dismissed by Josh Little, who later went on to finish with a four-wicket haul.
Soon after the Faf's dismissal, things got complicated for the home side as they lost wickets in quick succession. The onus was on Kolhi to guide the team home but he was also dismissed for 42 by the 11th over.
However, Dinesh Karthik displayed his experience to steady the ship along with Swapnil Singh, helping the team record a much-needed win with 38 balls to spare.
The four-wicket victory, in the process, pushed RCB from bottom to seventh in the IPL standings. Earlier, Shahrukh Khan's 37 and David Miller's 30 had helped Gujarat to post 147 in 19.3 overs.
Shahrukh's controlled aggression came in handy while Miller put the short handle to effective use and was harsh on Karn Sharma before eventually losing his wicket to the same bowler.
Reeling at 19 for 3 after 5.3 overs, Shahrukh and Miller played the rescue act. After being asked to bat, Gujarat got off to a disastrous start as Wriddhiman Saha was sent back by Mohammed Siraj in the second over.
The onus was on captain Shubman Gill and the in-form B Sai Sudharsan to take charge and help Gujarat get a good start. With the team lying at eighth spot going into the match, it was a must-win game for Gujarat as well.
''The talk is to win four in four. It's important to turn up and deliver our best. I feel our fielding has let us down. We have had a chat about it. We need to be a better team as a fielding unit. IPL is such a long tournament. It's important to turn up on the day. We have two changes, Manav Suthar makes his debut and Josh Little comes in,'' said Gill had said before the match.
However, Gill (2 off 7 balls) didn't last long as he fell to Siraj. He got out while trying to whip a good-length delivery towards the on side. He closed the face of the bat too soon and found the top edge. The deep third fielder, Vyshak Vijaykumar, came in and claimed the catch. Vijaykumar later claimed two wickets.
Soon, it became a nightmare situation for the visiting side as Sai Sudharsan was also dismissed soon. Cameron Green outfoxed Sai Sudharsan with a change of pace.
That's when Shahrukh and Miller intervened. Later, Rahul Tewatia hit 21-ball 35 to help the team cross the 140-run mark.
Brief scores: GT 147 in 19.3 ovs (Shahrukh 37, Tewatia 35; Siraj 2/29, Dayal 2/21, Vijaykumar 2/23) lost to RCB 152/6 in 13.4 ovs (Faf 64, Virat 42; Little 4/45).