The Gujarat Titans secured a comfortable eight-wicket victory against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Buttler led the way with an unbeaten knock of 73, supported by Sudharsan’s 49 and Rutherford’s 30 not out. While Bhuvneshwar took one wicket, Siraj was the star bowler for Bengaluru with figures of 3-19. Despite Livingstone’s half-century and contributions from Jitesh (33) and David (32), the Royal Challengers were limited to a total of 169 for 8.
Siraj’s impressive 3 for 19 performance, paired with Buttler’s unbeaten 73 runs off just 39 deliveries, proved to be the winning combination for Gujarat Titans (GT) as they triumphed over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their homecoming match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The GT team cruised to an eight-wicket victory thanks to this dynamic duo.
Making his comeback to Bengaluru after seven years with RCB, Siraj had a score to settle as he faced them on the field. With impressive speeds over 140kph, he caused trouble for the batters in the initial overs and managed to take an important wicket towards the end. However, even with Siraj’s outstanding performance, RCB could only reach a total of 169 for 8, largely thanks to Liam Livingstone’s half-century and contributions from Jitesh Sharma and Tim David.
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Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed their accuracy in the powerplay for RCB, but as the game went on, their bowling lost its effectiveness. Despite Shubman Gill’s early dismissal, Sai Sudharsan and Buttler joined forces to accelerate the chase, scoring 75 runs in just 47 deliveries. Later on, Sherfane Rutherford was substituted in and, along with Buttler, contributed an unbeaten partnership of 63 runs off 32 balls to seal GT’s victory with 13 balls remaining.
GT achieved their second victory in three games, while RCB suffered their first defeat of IPL 2025 following two impressive wins.
Siraj’s wizardry in Bengaluru against the home team.
Siraj has performed his signature siuuu celebration multiple times at the Chinnaswamy Stadium over the past seven years. Each time, it has elicited a thunderous reaction from the crowd. However, during Wednesday’s match, there were two occasions in the powerplay where Siraj’s celebratory run was met with complete silence. As he was not retained by RCB for the auction, Siraj, who is now playing for GT, had some unfinished business to attend to. And he executed it in his trademark bold and stylish manner.
What stood out about his performance was his spell during the powerplay. Siraj maintained an impressive speed around mid-140kph and was both accurate and consistent with his lengths. Based on ESPNcricinfo’s records, he delivered 18 balls during the powerplay, resulting in two wickets and six landing on a perfect length. Most notably, eight of his deliveries were right in line with the stumps, leaving the batters little space to maneuver. RCB struggled to maintain control against Siraj, with a mere 50% success rate during the powerplay.
Siraj missed an opportunity to dismiss Phil Salt in the first over, as Buttler dropped a crucial catch. Later on, Siraj had the zing bails flying when Devdutt Padikkal took a risky approach and was bowled out. In his following over, Salt managed to hit a massive six against Siraj. However, Siraj quickly retaliated by delivering a fast 145.9kph ball that knocked down Salt’s off stump.
After his return, Siraj successfully took down Livingstone in the 19th over, ultimately ending with a 3 for 19 record. Throughout his four overs, he managed to bowl 14 consecutive dots.
RCB is lifted by Livingstone, Jitesh and David.
At 42 for 4 after 6.2 overs, RCB found themselves in a difficult situation. Rajat Patidar’s dismissal at the hands of Ishant Sharma had silenced the Chinnaswamy crowd. However, Jitesh wasted no time in showing his determination. He started off with a well-executed pull shot against Ishant and then proceeded to hit him for two consecutive boundaries, utilizing his wrists to loft the ball over long-on. This resulted in RCB adding 17 runs to their total in the ninth over.
Livingstone, on the other hand, was determined to escape before ultimately crushing Rashid Khan’s delivery over deep square leg. He took advantage of his fortunate moments, having been dropped twice and escaping a missed stumping opportunity. However, Jitesh and Krunal Pandya were unable to continue their partnership, falling in rapid succession to R Sai Kishore. The bowler proved effective with figures of 2 for 22 in his four overs, breaking the 52-run partnership between Jitesh and Livingstone in the 13th over. With a well-placed toss, he lured Jitesh into skying the ball to long-on.
In the following two overs, Sai Kishore caught Krunal off guard as the ball seemed to stick on the pitch, resulting in a leading edge straight back to the bowler. Following that, it was Livingstone’s turn to take charge for RCB. He broke free from restraints with a powerful six over deep midwicket against Rashid, while David also contributed with a six and a four. Despite their efforts, RCB was still struggling at 129 for 6 after 17 overs. However, in the 18th over, Livingstone dominated Rashid by hitting three more sixes to bring his fifty off just 39 balls. Overall, he scored an impressive 39 runs off only 17 deliveries against Rashid, including five sixes.
RCB managed to score 64 runs in the final five overs, largely due to David’s impressive hitting which earned him 32 runs off just 18 balls. However, the total of 169 runs at the innings break seemed inadequate.
Buttler once again proves his abilities.
Buttler entered the IPL with added pressure, having recently resigned from his role as England’s white-ball captain following a disappointing Champions Trophy. Additionally, his performance on the field had not been up to par. Joining a new team for this IPL season meant a change of pace for Buttler, as he had previously thrived with the Rajasthan Royals and now found himself batting in the No. 3 position after mostly opening in previous seasons.
In a mere three innings, Buttler has once again proven that his performance remains consistent. Prior to the game, he had achieved scores of 70*, 8, 106*, 0, 0 and 100* against RCB since IPL 2022. On Wednesday, he added to his impressive record.
Buttler stepped up to the crease as GT faced some challenges. Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar were causing trouble with their skilled bowling. Gill managed to score a six off Bhuvneshwar’s delivery, but unfortunately got caught out on the very next ball, near the deep third area. This brought GT’s total to 32 for 1 in just 4.4 overs.
Initially, Buttler paced himself to get comfortable. He started off at just 5 runs off 8 balls, but then he focused on Rasikh Salam and swiftly found his rhythm. In a matter of only 12 deliveries, Buttler blasted Rasikh for an impressive 27 runs, and from there on, everything seemed to click for him.
Sudharsan was in peak form, scoring 49 runs off just 36 balls while partnering with Buttler for a strong 75-run contribution. But when Sudharsan eventually fell, Buttler stepped up his game and reached his half-century in just 31 balls. Rutherford, batting at No. 4, followed suit and added to the momentum as GT closed in on their target.
The swift teamwork resulted in GT significantly boosting their net run rate through a resounding victory. However, RCB’s defeat caused them to slide into third place, trailing behind Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals.
