Match 44 - Points Table - sportstiger

Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL

The Gujarat Titans continued their domination in IPL as they defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Brabourne Stadium. RCB had a great first innings with Virat Kohli’s half-century as they posted 170. But GT had a slow start as Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill couldn’t convert on their good starts. Then in the end, it was another Rahul Tewatia finish as he scored 43 of 25 balls to chase the total in the 19th over. 

Whereas in the second match, Mumbai Indians registered their first win of the tournament as they took down Rajasthan Royals by five wickets. Finally, MI had great bowling performances with Hrithik Shokeen and Riley Meredith each picking two wickets. Then in the second innings, Suryakumar Yadav played an incredible 51 in 39 balls to win the game in the 19th over.

Changes in the points table

After the 43rd match of the IPL, Gujarat Titans are at the top of the table with 16 points from nine games. They also have a net run rate of +0.377. Whereas the Royal Challengers Bangalore are fifth on the table with 10 points from 10 games with a net run rate of -0.558. Whereas after the 44th match, the Rajasthan Royals are second on the table with 12 points from 10 games with a net run rate of +0.450. Whereas Mumbai Indians are still at the bottom of the table with two points from nine games a net run rate of -0.836.

Today’s Matchup

In another IPL Super Sunday, the Delhi Capitals will face the Lucknow Super Giants for the first time in the history of the tournament. Whereas in the second match of the day Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to complete their double win over Chennai Super Kings this season. In their previous game, SRH defeated Chennai by eight wickets. 

What did the winning captains say?

GT captain Hardik Pandya praised his team’s another incredible comeback victory. He said, “That's the beauty of this team, people coming in and showing what they can do in clutch situations is becoming quite a habit, something I don't mind happening. We always back them to do it, but they're defying odds time and again. Credit to their confidence level (on Miller, Tewatia and Rashid), the self-belief that they're having, making sure they can finish games. To be very honest, we don't play to what people say, at the end of the day, it's up to yourself to improve, that's what we want.”

“I have had a lot of chats with Rahul (Tewatia), you can see that self-belief, if you can finish games like this, you need to be super cool. That makes you think that 7, 8 or even 9 can make you win. This win is dedicated to the people of Gujarat, as it's Gujarat Day tomorrow, thanks for all the love and wishes you've shown us. As I have played a lot in Maharashtra, happy Maharashtra day as well”, GT skipper added.

MI captain Rohit Sharma on the other hand was elated as his team's first win of the tournament. He said, “I'd definitely take it (win), that's how we play, real potential came out today, with the ball specially. They kept applying the pressure. If you keep taking wickets, it's going to be difficult for them, we did that perfectly today."

“This is the team we played in the first couple of games except few bowling changes. When you have a season like that, you are not sure of your combination. You want to try out so many things. The conditions are different. The ball tends to grip here, the pitches are flat in the other venues.”

“We try and field the best combination, it hasn't worked for eight games. But one thing I can say is, we were not blown away by the opposition, we came really close. Had we won those games, things would have been slightly different. (On Hrithik and Kartikeya) Both of these guys, they are courageous, they want to do something special. It gives me the confidence to bowl them at any given stage. We played very well, bowlers came together, batters did the job as well”, Sharma added.