‘Dream is still alive’- Bangalore crush Gujarat by 8 wickets to keep their playoff hopes alive

In a must-win match for Bangalore, Faf du Plessis and Co. crushed Gujarat by 8 wickets on Thursday at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. With that win, they have kept their hopes alive for the playoffs. If Delhi lose their last league stage match against Mumbai, then Bangalore will make a top-four finish.

Talking about the game, Gujarat batted first and managed to compile 168 runs in the first innings. Hazlewood bowled brilliantly in his first over as he picked the wicket of Shubman Gill (1 off 4). However, Wade tried to up the ante and counter-attacked Hazlewood in his next over. He hit two fours and a six in the fourth over of the innings.

However, on the second ball of the next over, Wade was given out leg-before off Maxwell in a controversial decision. W Saha, who, once again, provided a brilliant start, unfortunately, got run out in the 9^th over and Gujarat could only manage to 78 for 3 at the halfway stage of the innings.

However, Hardik Pandya-the skipper came to the rescue and took the team to a competitive score on the board. He stitched a 61-run partnership with David Miller to lead a notable recovery. Miller scored 34 runs in 25 balls, a knock which had 3 fours. However, he couldn’t score big as Hasaranga accounted for his wicket in the 17^th over.

Hardik Pandya, however, played right till the end. He scored a vital knock of 62 runs in 47 balls, including 4 fours and 3 sixes. Rashid Khan also played a vital cameo in the slog overs as he scored 19 runs in 6 balls. Thanks to those contributions, Gujarat managed 168 but it proved too little in the end.

In pursuit of a 168-run total, Bangalore showed intent right from the start of the innings. Virat Kohli-the former Bangalore skipper- returned to form with a brilliant knock of 73 runs in 54 balls, including 8 fours and 2 sixes. He looked to play shots right from the start of his innings and played some mesmerizing shots during his knock.

He stitched a valuable partnership with Faf du Plessis for the opening wicket. The duo, in fact, put on their best ever opening partnership of this season. Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis added 115 runs for the first wicket. Skipper, Faf du Plessis also played a valuable knock of 44 runs in 38 balls before getting out off Rashid Khan in the 15th over.

Virat Kohli got out in the 17th over, however, Glenn Maxwell’s (40 off 18) brilliant unbeaten knock meant Bangalore chased down the score in just 18.4 overs.

Here’s a look at some of the best reactions from the game:

Rcb fans after kohli performance:#RCBvGT pic.twitter.com/7nb4g9JRfO

— Er. Aamir (@Mech_ENGineer07) May 19, 2022

https://twitter.com/khushbookadri/status/1527344762231001088

https://twitter.com/RishabhBagmar08/status/1527344767884898305

https://twitter.com/onlyprathamesh/status/1527343802960138243

KING FOR A REASON, KING OF ALL SEASONS.

Really happy to see our champ Virat Kohli is back in his ferocious form. #RCBvGT #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/leaQ9kzwzq

— Amit Mishra (@MishiAmit) May 19, 2022

https://twitter.com/RVCJ_FB/status/1527326047313616897

https://twitter.com/Tanay_Tiwari/status/1527332885878824962

https://twitter.com/Cricketracker/status/1527316614882140162

Matthew Wade isn't happy with Umpire's decision..#IPL2022 #RCBvGT pic.twitter.com/F2KNXV2ZQ4

— RVCJ Media (@RVCJ_FB) May 19, 2022

https://twitter.com/TukTuk_Academy/status/1527315384046874624

https://twitter.com/abhithecomic/status/1527343499007623168

Unbelievable support for Dinesh Karthik at Wankhede. His knocks in this season have certainly made a huge impression. #RCBvGT

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) May 19, 2022

https://twitter.com/albaatrross/status/1527336890059218952

RCB fans after winning yet another must win game to stay alive #RCBvGT #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/AgNbmVZ3VQ

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) May 19, 2022

BOW DOWN TO THE KING… #RCBvGT pic.twitter.com/y6LSABFwg6

— gautam (@itzgautamm) May 19, 2022

https://twitter.com/ChloeAmandaB/status/1527343881808859140