Ahmedabad, April 30 (IANS) Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar admitted that his side fell short with the bat and paid the price for losing wickets in the middle overs as they went down by four wickets to the Gujarat Titans in Match 42 of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.

After being put in to bat, RCB posted 155 in 19.2 overs, with Devdutt Padikkal top-scoring with 40 and Virat Kohli contributing a quickfire 28. However, a middle-order collapse dented their chances of setting a challenging total.

“I think the score was not good enough, but the way we bowled and stretched it to 15-16 overs, I think that’s a positive sign for us,” Patidar said after the match.

In reply, Gujarat Titans were off to a flying start, courtesy of skipper Shubman Gill, who smashed 43 off just 18 balls to put RCB under early pressure. GT eventually chased down the target in 15.5 overs, finishing at 158/6.

“There was a good cover of grass on the surface that helped fast bowlers. And as I said, the way Shubman played in the powerplay, he put the pressure on us,” Patidar noted.

Despite the early onslaught, RCB bowlers managed to pull things back briefly, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar leading the effort with three wickets. Patidar praised the veteran pacer’s impact with the ball.

“As we all know, he’s an experienced bowler in the T20 format, and the way he bowled in the first half was incredible,” he said.

Patidar also stressed that the team is not focusing on the points table despite being in a competitive position in the tournament.

“It’s a long way to go, and we’ll take it one game at a time. There’s bound to be hiccups. We are not looking at the table, we aim to play good cricket,” he added.

For the Gujarat Titans, Jos Buttler (39) and Rahul Tewatia (27 not out) provided valuable support to Gill, ensuring a comfortable chase despite a few late wickets.

Earlier, Arshad Khan (3-22) starred with the ball for GT, while Rashid Khan and Jason Holder picked up two wickets each to restrict RCB to a modest total.

–IANS

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