Ahmedabad: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) closed in on their second consecutive IPL title after bowlers exploited a slow pitch to perfection, restricting a lethargic Gujarat Titans to a sub-par 155 for eight in the final here on Sunday.
Shot-making was not exactly an easy proposition on the pitch No. 6 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, a mix of red and black soil, and it aptly reflected in the GT batting.
Washington Sundar resisted the trend with an unbeaten 50 (37b, 5×4), but the damage around him was far too big to mitigate.
The fatigue of playing Qualifier 2 on Friday and a delayed departure because of inclement weather at Mullanpur also might have added to their list of woes.
But none of that should not take any credit away from the RCB bowlers who more often than not found the correct lengths on this deck.
The Titans needed skipper Shubman Gill and his opening partner B Sai Sudharsan to fire upfront to pile a competitive total, but they failed in that endeavour.
A steady beginning was not alien to GT openers, but Gill’s swat off Josh Hazlewood (2/37) took the leading edge of his bat to create a simple catch for his opposite number Rajat Patidar.
Sudharsan, who was once saved by DRS from being caught behind off Jacob Duffy, did not last long either.
The left-hander’s woeful pull off a well-directed high and wide bouncer by Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/29) did not travel beyond a running-in stumper, Jitesh Sharma. Bhuvneshwar is now tied with Kagiso Rabada (28 wickets) in the Purple Cap race.
Once their two batters, who have amassed over 700 runs each this season, the GT batting lost its rudders, ending an underwhelming Power Play phase at 45 for two.
There was no real fire or purpose in the rest of the batters to enact a recovery act.
Jos Buttler (19) and Washington, who brought up his fifty in 37 balls, tried to keep the innings of Titans together, but they struggled to shake off their defensive men.
The young pacer Rasikh Salam Dhar (3/27), who continued his impressive run behind lead bowlers Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood, picked up the wickets of an out-of-sync Nishant Sindhu (20 off 18 balls) and Rahul Tewatia as the home side lost the cream of its batting line-up even before reaching 100.
That the Titans had to wait till the 13th over for the first six off their innings — a mighty drag over mid-wicket off Krunal Pandya — underlined GT’s turmoil on the night.
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