Published: April 24, 2026 at 11:36 pm
Sai Sudharsan struck a century, but his effort went in vain as Gujarat Titans crashed to yet another loss in the IPL 2026. On Friday night, the Titans were brought low by defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who cruised to a five-wicket win with seven balls to spare at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Chasing what looked like a tricky 206 for victory, Bengaluru got going in the chase and never stopped. They kept going hard even when wickets were falling, and in the end, they ended the day with a very convincing victory that has shot them up to second on the points table. The defending champions are looking very much good for the money, like a team that can go ahead and do it all over again.
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Though Jacob Bethell fell early, 26 on the board, veteran Virat Kohli and the in-form Devdutt Padikkal denied Gujarat any leeway. The duo added 115 off just 59 balls with both players contributing 50 plus scores.
Virat Kohli made 81 to ensure Royal Challengers Bengaluru cruised to a five-wicket win over Gujarat Titans on Friday. Pics: BCCI
Devdutt fell for 55 off 27 balls with two fours and six sixes and then Virat departed for 81 off 44 balls with eight fours and four sixes. Rajat Patidar (8) and Jitesh Sharma (10) too followed suit but Tim David (10 not out) and Krunal Pandya (23 not out) finished the job without much ado.
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“It was a tight match but a lot of learnings from this game. The way we started our bowling, the way Bhuvi and Hazlewood bowled was pretty good. After that, the way we came in, Suyash bowled very well. The yorkers bowled by Rasikh and Bhuvi were also very good to see. I think we made the target that if we can stop them around 200, it’s a good total for us to chase down. The way the last few overs, according to our plans, the execution was spot on. The way they bowled their yorkers were very good which is why we stopped them around 205. The way Bethell and Vicky bhai have started was great and then the way Devdutt came in and played, quick and fiery was nice to see. But the way we lost wickets in the middle overs was a learning. We’ll go back and see what errors we made,” said Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar.
Dominance is our mindset, but adaptability is our strength, says RCB captain Rajat Patidar
Sudharsan and Gill give a solid opening for GT
Gujarat Titans, on the other hand, tried to play risk-free, with their openers putting on a 128-run stand in 12.4 overs. The pace they scored at meant their undercooked middle order had to finish the game hard, which they failed to do as RCB’s wily bowlers pulled things back.
For Titans, the same questions that have hung around their heads from the start of the season will continue to haunt them. About their tempo. About their middle order. And if they need to adapt to play a more modern, aggressive brand of cricket.
Sai Sudharsan scored a 58-ball 100 with 11 fours and five sixes but his effort went in vain
Sudharsan (100; 58 balls, 11×4, 5×6) and skipper Shubman Gill (32) added 128 for the first wicket in 12.4 overs. The Titans looked good as their openers laid the solid foundation for a big total. But unfortunately, they were unable to do so as the Royal Challengers’ bowlers slowed down things.
Titans got a watchful 57 in the powerplay and then added 113 in the middle overs but they could only muster 35 at the death. At the end, the 205 they put up on the board proved insufficient to test the strong hosts batting.
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“Definitely, I think from 16th to 19th we couldn’t get any boundaries and couldn’t get as many runs as we would have liked. Those were crucial overs for us. At the end of the powerplay we were in a good position and it was about taking wickets in the middle overs and were not able to after the powerplay got over,” said Gill.
On Sudharsan’s knock, Gill said: “He had been disappointed with how he got out in the last few games, but he bounced back. In the next match, hopefully he gives me a little bit more strike in the powerplay (chuckles).”
Brief scores: Gujarat Titans 205 for three in 20 overs (Sai Sudharshan 100, Shubman Gill 32, Jose Buttler 25, Washington Sundar 19 not out, Jason Holder 23 not out) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 206 for five in 18.5 overs (Virat Kohli 81, Devdutt Padikkal 55 Krunal Pandya 23 not out; Rashid Khan 2/49).
