The imperious Virat Kohli led the way for the Royal Challengers Bangalore as they chased down Gujarat Titans’ total of 205-3 with ridiculous ease to win their Tata IPL match by five wickets with seven balls to spare at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday evening
Thirty-seven-year-old Kohli was as good as ever during his 81 from just 44 balls with eight fours and four sixes while Devdutt Padikkal all-but sealed the victory with an even faster 55 from 27 balls with two fours and half a dozen sixes which allowed big-hitter Tim David to coast over the finish line with 10* from nine balls.
You can put your faith in him when its a run chase 🙌
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 24, 2026
Virat Kohli reaches another #TATAIPL fifty 👏
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/5ZJjfv5Nr6#KhelBindaas | #RCBvGT pic.twitter.com/zJlUA70Udp
It was a particularly galling defeat for Gujarat opener Sai Sudharsan who reached his third IPL century from just 57 balls before splicing a hook shot back to bowler Josh Hazlewood to depart for 100 from 58 balls with 11 fours and five sixes.
📸 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁! 🤩
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 24, 2026
Sai Sudharsan walks back after a magnificent 1⃣0⃣0⃣(58) 👏
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/5ZJjfv5Nr6#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #RCBvGT pic.twitter.com/7FmeLETNKr
Gujarat were poised for a total of at least 200 at the halfway stage but captain Shubman Gill (32 from 24 balls) and Jos Buttler (25 from 16) were unable to capitalise on fast starts leaving former West Indian captain Jason Holder to push the total over 200 with two sixes in the final over in his 23* from 10 balls.
As always, the figures for the bowlers who made the difference did not reflect their importance to the result.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-0-31-1) and Hazlewood (4-0-40-1) were outstanding in the closing overs to restrict the visitors to an inadequate total.
The result may have been very different had Washington Sundar not dropped a straightforward catch at short midwicket before Kohli had scored with Mohammed Siraj (3-0-25-1) the unlucky bowler.
Kagiso Rabada bowled better than his analysis of 4-0-45-0 might suggest, but it was a bruising evening for the great Rashid Khan whose two wickets cost 49 runs in his four overs.
Kohli was in the mood to finish the game himself before bottom-edging a hook against Holder onto his stumps – to his fury – but the reigning champions remain well on course for the playoffs and a chance to defend their title.
The result moves RCB up to second on the log with five wins and ten points from their seven matches while Gujarat remain in seventh place with three wins and six points from their seven matches.
GET IN THEREEEEEEE 🤩❤️🔥
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) April 24, 2026
5️⃣0️⃣𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝘁 ನಮ್ಮ 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗮𝘀𝘄𝗮𝗺𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 #𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗣𝗟 and what a way to get it. 🫡💥 pic.twitter.com/JiHfDwcpok
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (captain), Jitesh Sharma (wkt), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar
Impact subs: Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Venkatesh Iyer
Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Jos Buttler (wkt), Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj
Impact subs: Prasidh Krishna, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Phillips, Nishant Sindhu, Arshad Khan