Captain Faf du Plessis top-scored with a blistering 64 while Dinesh Karthik applied the finishing touches after a batting wobble as the duo ensured Royal Challengers Bengaluru kept alive their playoff hopes with a four-wicket win over Gujarat Titans at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. After Yash Dayal, Vyshak Vijaykumar and Mohammed Siraj picked two wickets each in a superb bowling performance to bundle out GT for a below-par 147, du Plessis and Virat Kohli gave RCB a blazing start with a 92-run opening stand coming in just 35 balls. RCB vs GT IPL 2024 Turning Point of the Match: Did Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Powerplay Performance in Both Innings Make the Difference?

Du Plessis was more aggressive of the two, hitting 10 fours and three sixes in his 23-ball stay at the crease. After he fell, GT triggered a spectacular RCB batting implosion by picking up six wickets from overs 6-11.

It took Karthik’s 21 not out and Swapnil Singh’s unbeaten 15 to get RCB over the line and help them jump to seventh place in the points table. RCB’s win also meant GT slid to ninth place and Mumbai Indians became the new occupants of tenth position in the points table. Chasing 148, Kohli began by lofting and whipping Mohit Sharma for a brace of sixes in the opening over. Du Plessis greeted Joshua Little with a pulled four, followed by taking two fours and a six in the 20-run second over.

He then took the attack to debutant spinner Manav Suthar, taking a six and four in the third over, followed by heaving Mohit over mid-wicket to bring up RCB’s fifty in just 19 balls. There was just no stopping du Plessis as he took three more fours off Mohit in an 18-run fourth over. After a sublime Kohli dispatched Suthar for two sixes, du Plessis completed his fifty in 18 balls and went on to slam Little for two fours and a six in the last over of power-play. But Little had the last laugh by cramping du Plessis for room and a short fine leg took the catch on top-edge, as RCB ended the Power-play at 92/1.

The fast and furious styled scoring from RCB in power-play was brought to a halt afterwards by GT as Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green perished quickly. When Kohli nicked behind off Noor Ahmad to fall for a 27-ball 42, the RCB supporting home crowd was left stunned over the batting meltdown resulting in the hosts’ being at 116/6 from 92/0.

Amidst incredible pressure on RCB, a calm Karthik came out to diffuse the tension in the run-chase by taking down Rashid Khan with three fours – a whip over mid-wicket was followed by pull over square leg and a firm carve over cover in a 16-run 12th over. A brace of lovely sweeps from Swapnil Singh off Noor, followed by him slamming Rashid down the ground for a huge six ensured RCB got over the line with 38 balls to spare and relief written large on the faces of their camp.

RCB vs GT IPL 2024 Stat Highlights

# Faf du Plessis now has the most runs by a RCB batter within powerplay (64)

# RCB now has the sixth highest score in powerplay in IPL history (92/1)

# Faf du Plessis now has the second-fastest fifty for RCB (in 18 balls)

# 147 by GT is the lowest total at Bengaluru in IPL 2024

# This is the 3rd time GT have got all-out this season - most by a team

# 147 is the lowest team total in RCB-GT matches

# 23/3 by GT is the lowest Powerplay total in IPL 2024

# This is the fourth time Mohammed Siraj has dismissed Wriddhiman Saha

# Rahul Tewatia completed 1000 runs in the IPL

# Virat Kohli has completed 12500 runs in T20 cricket

# GT now has the lowest average for a batting pair in IPL 2024 (20)

# Virat Kohli now has the second most run outs effected in IPL (20*)

# GT now has the Lowest run rate in overs 7-15 in IPL 2024 (7.7)

# GT now has the least boundaries in a powerplay innings in IPL 2024 (2). Viral Moments From RCB vs GT IPL 2024 Match: Virat Kohli’s Jibe at Wriddhiman Saha, Shahrukh Khan's Run Out, Vyshak Vijay Kumar’s Catch and Other Highlights From Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans Match.

In a clash that seemed would be a close contest like the last season these two teams met at the same venue, saw RCB rise to the top with a dominating performance. RCB are now a resurgent side with momentum behind them and look to carry on and push the envelope as much as possible. Meanwhile, things look grip for Shubman Gill and co who will have to look for big changes in their playing XI in their next game.

(With Inputs From IANS)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 05, 2024 12:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).