GT captain Shubman Gill applauds bowlers for crucial early wickets in RCB win
Following his team's win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill hailed his team's bowling efforts during first seven to eight overs which allowed them to get early wickets.
After two away wins, two absolute statement-delivering matches against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK), RCB fell flat at the start of their home run against GT, losing by eight wickets as GT put on a clinical show with both bat and ball.
Shubman Gill, captain of Gujarat Titans, commended his bowlers for their early breakthroughs in the win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. GT restricted RCB to 169/8, with standout performances from Mohammed Siraj and Sai Kishore. Jos Buttler's unbeaten 73* helped GT chase down the target, securing an eight-wicket victory.
Following the match, skipper Gill said during the post-match presentation, "We have seen on this ground, that restricting them to 170 was a good effort. The wicket has something in it sometimes; you can score 250 as well as get early wickets, there was something for the fast bowlers in the first 7-8 overs and we knew if we pick early wickets then we are in the game. You are disappointed (on his team's dropped catches), but you need to keep coming back and grab the next opportunity. We batted professionally, considering the wicket. It is all about adapting to the situation and playing according to that."
Coming to the match, RCB was put to bat first by GT, who won the toss and opted to field. As ex-RCBian Mohammed Siraj (3/19) reduced RCB to 42/4, a 52-run stand between Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma (33 in 20 balls, with five fours and a six) and a 46-run stand for the seventh wicket between Livingstone (54 in 40 balls, with a four and five sixes) and Tim David (32 in 18 balls, with three fours and two sixes) helped RCB make 169/8 in their 20 overs.
Sai Kishore (2/22) and Prasidh Krishna (1/26) were also impressive with the ball. During the run-chase, GT lost their skipper Shubman Gill (14) early, but top knocks from Jos Buttler (73* in 39 balls, with five fours and six sixes), Sai Sudharsan (49 in 36 balls, with seven fours and a six) and Sherfane Rutherford (30* in 18 balls, with a four and three sixes) took GT to a win with 13 balls and eight wickets in hand.
Siraj won the 'Player of the Match' for his spell. Now, RCB is in third place in the points table with two wins and a loss, giving them four points. GT is a spot below them with the same win-loss record and points. (ANI)