Yesterday IPL match result: Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal fifties stand tall as RCB beat GT by five wickets

BENGALURU: Under the bright M Chinnaswamy Stadium floodlights, Royal Challengers Bengaluru delivered a statement performance in their last league-stage outing at the venue. Chasing a daunting target, the defending champions leaned on a vintage partnership between Virat Kohli (81) and Devdutt Padikkal (55) to script a composed five-wicket win over the Gujarat Titans.

Chasing 206, the home side overhauled the target with seven balls to spare. In the process, Sai Sudharsan’s magnificent century — the cornerstone of GT’s innings — was rendered a footnote in a contest that ultimately belonged to the batters.

The chase began with an early let-off that proved decisive. Kohli, who was yet to get off the mark, was dropped by Washington Sundar in the opening over. The seasoned star wasted no time in making Gujarat pay.

He unfurled crisp boundaries off Kagiso Rabada, while Padikkal, after Jacob Bethell’s early dismissal to Mohammed Siraj, settled in seamlessly and injected fluency into the innings. The duo ensured RCB ended the Powerplay at 58/1, laying the foundation for what would become a dominant chase.

If the early exchanges set the tone, the middle overs firmly tilted the game. Kohli blended control with aggression, reaching his 50 off 30 balls, while also bringing up his 300th IPL six with a towering strike off Rashid Khan.

At the other end, Padikkal was equally fluent, racing to a half-century off just 20 deliveries and punishing anything loose.

Their 115-run stand off 59 balls all but broke the back of the chase, taking RCB past the 100-mark in under nine overs and leaving the Titans searching for answers.

Padikkal’s departure off Rashid’s bowling briefly offered GT a glimmer, and Kohli’s dismissal for a superb 81 off 44 balls — an innings studded with eight fours and four sixes — gave the visitors a flicker of hope. But by then, the equation had eased considerably. Rajat Patidar contributed just 8, as RCB lost a couple of wickets in a brief stutter. But Tim David (10*) and Krunal Pandya (23*) ensured there would be no late drama.

Earlier, Titans rode a brilliant century from Sai Sudharsan to post 205/3 after RCB chose to bowl. The left-hander, rediscovering his touch after a lean patch, anchored the innings with 100 off 58 balls, laced with 11 fours and five sixes. RCB’s new-ball pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/31) and Josh Hazlewood (1/40) tested him early, but Sudharsan settled quickly, reaching 46 in the powerplay as GT made 57 without loss in six overs.