IPL: Siraj sets it up, Buttler makes it off for Titans

At Ashish Magotraiashish Magotra Apr 03, 2025 05:26 AM is the Pacer’s three wickets to help limit RCB before Sudharsan and Buttler GT facilitate a 8-wicket victory in Bengaluru New Delhi: Twenty20 matches are rarely straight. There is always a collapse or a boom that experts and fans do not take into account. It makes the game unpredictable and exciting. But then there are games that deviate from the norm. Gujarat Titans’ facilical winning win of eight wickets over royal challengers Bengaluru Wednesday was one of them. From start to finish there would be only one winner. Gujarat Titans Pacer Mohammed Siraj. (AFP) From the beginning, GT control seized. They won the throw, chose to field, and for the first seven overs of the match they were brilliant. By the time the dust lay down, RCB was 48/4 and he already needed something special. The first to fall was Virat Kohli (7), who pulled a delivery of left-arm Passanker Arshad Khan straight to Ishant Sharma in the depth. Mohammed Siraj, a former RCB star, quickly returned Devdutt Padikkal (4) and Phil Salt (14). When Captain Rajat Patidar, 12, was captured in seventh place by Ishant, the hosts were in big trouble. They managed to find their way out of it somehow, but for that they should thank happiness (for the missed chances and stumps), Liam Livingstone (54) and Tim David’s late Blitz, who made him 32 of 18 balls. However, GT will be concerned about the form of Rashid Khan. His four overs sailed for 54 runs, and it is very different from the usual returns of the Afghanistan. Come on the later rounds, they must shoot their bait on all cylinders. RCB finally finished with 169/8 and it was the kind of total that demanded fast wickets from their bowlers. In their honor, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood beat the bat many times, but the important rand eluded them. GT went through the first four overs before Shubman Gill, 14, was caught in the deep of Bhuvneshwar. But Sai Sudharsan (49) and Jos Buttler (73*) put on a brilliant 75 run at just 47 balls to settle the nerves. It started with Sudharsan, which broke the shackles with some delicious stroke place. He added the strange driveway to keep the bowlers honest and as soon as Buttler also came in the act, there was little that RCB could do. Sudharsan’s wicket at 107 gave RCB a small opportunity, but Buttler emphatically locked it up. He played with the kind of abandonment that helped him earn the reputation as one of the most destructive white-ball fighters in the world. His 73 were fed 5 fours and 6 sixes and nothing bothered him on the day. After the fall of Sudharsan, Buttler found an ally in Sherfane Rutherford (30 out of 18) and ended the match without much fuss. “There was a bit in the wicket, so the two openers played meaningfully to get the sting out of it and set the chase,” Buttler said after the match. “Try to play with freedom and intent – had a few months of unproven cricket and tried to give my best and be excited to be here.” Buttler added: “We have a lot of bases covered-fantastic seam buoy unit, the spinners and a fantastic batting unit.” The loss means that both RCB and GT find themselves at four points after three games. Orange Cap in IPL 2025, IPL Purple Cap and IPL Points Table-Stay with real-time match updates, team exhibitions and insights. Check out Live Cricket Score, Player Stats and ICC rankings of top players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Get expert analysis, IPL match previews and an in-depth coverage of KKR, RCB, IPL 2025 and IPL 2025 schedule, along with RCB vs GT live score all on HT Crickit, powered by Hindustan Times-U Reliable Source for Cricket News. Orange Cap in IPL 2025, IPL Purple Cap and IPL Points Table-Stay with real-time match updates, team exhibitions and insights. Check out Live Cricket Score, Player Stats and ICC rankings of top players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Get expert analysis, IPL match previews and an in-depth coverage of KKR, RCB, IPL 2025 and IPL 2025 schedule, along with RCB vs GT live score all on HT Crickit, powered by Hindustan Times-U Reliable Source for Cricket News. See fewer