IPL 10, Match 31, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Gujarat Lions - Match Review

Gujarat Lions were doing things right but were not getting the results they wanted. They had won just 2 out of their 7 games and were looking for a win here to climb up the table. Royal Challengers, on the other hand, were not doing so well either. Sitting second from bottom of the league table and recently getting their names engraved on the shameful ends of the records, Bangalore were struggling to find their feet.

The game started well for Gujarat as they won the toss and elected to field. With Gayle and Kohli opening the batting, the bowlers had their work cut out but both the openers were not at their best on the given day. Bangalore had just 17 runs halfway through the power play and just when Kohli decided to get a move on, he was sent packing by Basil Thampi.

Gujarat then tightened their grip on the match as Chris Gayle and Travis Head succumbed on successive deliveries to leave RCB reeling on 22 for 3.

It was now up to Kedar Jadhav and AB de Villiers to get RCB back on track. They built a small partnership worth 36 runs as Kedar was trying to up the ante but Ravindra Jadeja worked his magic. He cleaned the explosive right-hander apart as the dangerous partnership was then broken.

The RCB inning was now in the hands of the superstar AB de Villiers. However, the South African was unlucky on the day. An unfortunate mishap while running between the wickets saw AB de Villiers return back to pavilion for just 5 runs of 11 deliveries.

Mandeep Singh and Pawan Negi then took the matters into their hands and put on a quick 40 run partnership as Negi smashed a few out of the park. This 19 balls 32-run cameo from Pawan Negi and an 18- ball 31 runs inning from Kedar Jadhav helped RCB get to a decent enough total.

Gujarat Lions bowled extremely well as Andrew Tye picked up three wickets and Ravindra Jadeja partnered him well with is two-for. This brilliant bowling performance meant that Gujarat needed just 135 runs to win the game.

The visitors stuttered at the start of their innings as they lost Ishan Kishan and Brendon McCullum with a score of just 22. This bad start was soon overhauled by some magnificent hitting from Aaron Finch. The Australian was in top form today as he cleaved the RCB bowlers apart. He scored more than half the runs required as he was smashing the ball all over the park.

Finch scored a spectacular 72 of just 34 deliveries hitting five boundaries and six huge maximums. He was well partnered by the ever so consistent Suresh Raina who was just giving the strike to Finch as he was doing all the hitting. Raina remained not out on 34 of 30 deliveries as Gujarat chased down the modest total within 14 overs.

This hammering of RCB meant that they are now sitting second last on the points table with most matches played. RCB have now lost 6 games and have just won 2 games. On the other hand, Gujarat climbed above RCB and took the 6th position. This win will give Gujarat enough confidence as they would now look for a winning streak to barge into the top four.

Brief Scores –

RCB vs GL – GL won by 7 wickets

RCB: 134 all out 20 Overs (Negi 32, Jadhav 31, Tye 3/12)

GL: 135/3 13.5 Overs (Finch 72, Raina 34, Badree 2/29)

Check out full scorecard here