Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) secured a comfortable five-wicket victory over the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 34 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday, April 24. The win now takes them to second in the standings and just a point behind table toppers, the Punjab Kings.
RCB captain Rajat Paatidar won the toss and put GT into bat in the first innings, with the visitors posting a competitive score of 205 runs on the board. Opening batter Sai Sudharsan was the pick of the batters, scoring 100 off just 58 balls to return to form after some lacklustre performances.
The hosts, however, were never in trouble and chased down the total with seven balls to spare. Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal added 115 runs for the second wicket to form strong pillars in the run chase, with Krunal Pandya finishing off the things towards the end.
Talking points:
1. Welcome return to form for Sai Sudharsan
Sai Sudharsan was the Orange Cap winner last year in the IPL, scoring 759 whilst averaging close to 55. The left-hander, however, did not make the greatest of starts to this year’s tournament. Sudharsan had just one half-century to his name prior to today. Against the defending champions, Sudharsan scored 100 off 58 balls, scoring at a strike-rate of 172.41. The century meant a lot to the 24-year-old, and the aggressive celebration after reaching his hundred at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.
2. Padikkal 2.0 continues to mesmerise the Bengaluru crowd
Devdutt Padikkal has made the number three position his own this season and proved that with yet another outstanding knock. He scored his half-century off just 20 balls, his fastest in the IPL. He ended up scoring 55 from 27 balls in an innings comprising two fours and six sixes. He had a few off games over the past couple of weeks, but found his groove once again to score his third half-century in five games at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.
3. Virat Kohli unlucky not to reach triple figures
Virat Kohli registered his highest score in this year’s IPL after scoring 81 from just 44 balls at a strike-rate of 184. The right-handed batter, however, was extremely unlucky not to reach his century. He was provided with a lifeline in the first over thanks to a dropped catch, but he made full use of it. He struck two sixes off the bowling of Jason Holder, but dragged a slower ball onto the stumps to miss out on a well-deserved hundred.
Who said what
Shubman Gill, Gujarat Titans captain:
“Yeah, definitely, I think, from 16 till 19, those three overs, we couldn’t get any boundaries and we didn’t get as many runs as we would have liked. I think those three overs were very crucial for us. I mean, at the end of the powerplay, I think we were in a good position. It was all about taking wickets in the middle overs, which I think we were not able to just after the powerplay got over. (on dropping Kohli on 0) I mean, when a batsman gets dropped or not, it’s always, it’s tough on the fielder, but I think it’s important how you come back in the game. And with the ball, I think we had our moments, but I don’t think we were able to consistently hit the length ball, which was at times difficult to hit on this wicket. And you know, some balls here and there, and I think they batted brilliantly in the middle overs. (on Suthar) When we were batting, the balls that were, when I was batting, the balls that Krunal bowled slow, it was gripping a little bit. So, we thought we might take a chance. They are far ahead in the game. If we get a couple of wickets in this over, might bring us back in the game. (on Sai Sudharsan) Yeah, I mean, he was quite upset with the way he got in the previous couple of matches. But I think he covered up well. But in the next match, hopefully, he gives me a little bit more strike in the powerplay.”
Rajat Patidar, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain:
“Yeah, I think that was a tight match, but there are a lot of learnings from this game. But if I start, the way we started our bowling, first of all, I think the way Bhuvi and Hazelwood bowled the areas, I think that was pretty good. And afterward, I think the way we came in, I think Suyash has bowled pretty well. And in the death, the yorkers bowled by Rasikh and Bhuvi and Hazelwood, I think that was nice to see. (on restricting GT in the back-end) Yeah, I think we made the target that if we can stop them under 200, around 200, then that is a good total for us to chase down. But I think, yeah, the way last year was, as I said, I think the way we bowled our plans, according to our plans, the execution was totally spot-on. The way they bowled the yorkers, that was pretty much good, and that’s why we stopped them under 200 to 205. That’s it. (on the Kohli-Padikkal stand) Superb. I think the way Bethell and Vicky bhaiya started and that kept us on the driving seat and special knock by Devdutt, that was nice to see. That was quickfirey from the Dev and I enjoyed a lot. But I think in the middle overs, I think we lost couple of wickets early, back-to-back wickets. I think that’s a learning from this game. And yeah, let’s see, we’ll go back and we’ll do our…. whatever errors we’ve done in this match, we’ll try to rectify on it..
Virat Kohli, Player of the Match
“We had to assess the conditions early on. We were only one partnership away. We wanted to try and analyse. Padikkal has done this twice this season. This is quite rare to be honest. His innings was the clear difference. I was trying to be in the game. That partnership was the game changer. Our bowlers did a magnificent job. The spinners were not able to get the grip. Once you get hold of conditions, they you back yourself. The message was very clear. We had to go for it. We didn’t have any doubts. The body language comes from the belief. We have guys who can hurt bowlers. We have the cricket smarts of Krunal. You can see in his bowling. The combination gives us a lot of confidence. We have the depth the confidence in the group. We were happy to play here, it’s a special place to play cricket. It’s been brilliant to play at home and win four games. It has been a great start.”
