11.25pm So, Sai Sudharsan's century is pushed to being an afterthought after a swashbuckling chase from RCB that followed some great death bowling to pull Gujarat Titans back to 205 when, as Kohli said, they looked set for 230-plus at one stage. RCB continue to impress this season, with a superb all-round display. We are almost at the halfway stage of the league stage. Stay tuned on ESPNcricinfo for all the action coming you way over the weekend, the season's final double-double header, but that's all from us today. On behalf of Abhijato, Thilak, Sudeep and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo, it's Abhimanyu signing off. Good night!
11.20pm Time for the presentation ceremony.
The POTM is... Virat Kohli, who also takes the Orange Cap: "To be honest, we had to assess the wicket early on because A) they have a quality bowling attack and B) chasing 200 in the Chinnaswamy, we were just one partnership away. This is the second time Dev has come and done this. You never see him slogging the ball yet he's playing so freely. His innings was the difference in the first half and then I was trying to stay in the game so he won't feel the pressure. Even in our bowling innings, we did well to pull things back. We were looking at 230-235 at one stage. The feedback was the pitch was not bad at all. Best batting conditions we've had this season. So if we stayed in the game long enough it would get tougher and tougher for bowlers. Dev was going great guns and the idea was to keep the pressure on the bowlers. There was intent, clarity and feedback from the other and and we didn't have any doubts in the partnership and that's what worked for us. The body language comes from a belief in your abilities and we have a tremendous batting lineup. If you look at the talent on display, we have guys who can play good cricket shots, you have the power of Tim David and Shepherd and then you have the smarts of Krunal. So the message is simple - you see a ball to hit, go for it because you have the depth. Firstly, we were quite happy we were able to play five games here and the fans get to see the team again. Special place to play cricket and hopefully we'll be able to come back and play here again later in the season."
Rajat Patidar: "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 [Kohli] 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"
Devdutt Padikkal: "Feels great. Been working really hard to get where I am and I'm glad it's coming to good use. I think it's a lot to do with self belief that the management has given me. At the same time there are some technical changes i made in the last few years. You have to commit to those changes. Now I am getting the results. [On the six over cover vs Siraj] It was probably my favourite shot of the day for sure. At the end of the day, it's important I play according to the situation and assess what's going on out there. We were chasing 210 so we needed to make the most of the powerplay and keep the momentum up for the next few overs. I want to help finish games off so hopefully I can do that soon. We've seen what Tim, Romario and Jitesh are capable of down the order so with that kind of firepower, you have the freedom to go out and express yourself."
Shubman Gill: "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. [The Kohli dropped chance] When a batsman gets dropped on nought it's always tough on the fielder but it's important how you come back into the game. We had our moments but we were not able to consistently able to hit the length balls. And I think they batted beautifully in the middle overs. [On giving the over to Suthar] When I batted the balls Krunal bowled, it was gripping a little bit so I thought maybe we could try and a few wickets would have brought back my game. [On Sai Sudharsan] 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)."
Eric: "Conceding 287 to SRH a couple years back was the best thing to happen to RCB. It forced them to change the way they played and they have been the best team in the IPL since that day!" -- I mean, Punjab Kings have also been right up there since last season, but point taken.
Vivaas: "Fitting Krunal finished off the game on a bouncer"
11pm Our preview billed this as a clash of contrasts and so it turned out to be. Gujarat Titans 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. RCB, in contrast, got going in the chase and never stopped. They kept going hard even when wickets were falling, and in the end, they end the day with a very convincing victory that shoots them up to second on the points table. The defending champions looking very much good for the money, like a team that can go ahead and do it all over again. For Gujarat 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.
Ram: "I am saying this for the nth time. You never post. GT is playing low risk to risk free cricket. Won't work in T20 anymore. " -- Well, i agree!
Holder to bowl the 19th
END OF OVER:18 | 15 Runs | RCB: 199/5 (7 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 11.05, RRR: 3.50)
- Krunal Pandya17 (8b)
- Tim David9 (8b)
- Manav Suthar2-0-19-1
- Kagiso Rabada4-0-45-0
gautham : "Looks like KumarS with 18.1 is winning the prediction battle" -- Probably the closest prediction, yes!
Suthar from around the wicket, running in from behind the umpire
END OF OVER:17 | 9 Runs | RCB: 184/5 (22 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 10.82, RRR: 7.33)
- Tim David9 (8b)
- Krunal Pandya2 (2b)
- Kagiso Rabada4-0-45-0
- Manav Suthar1-0-4-1

