Ahmedabad, April 30 (IANS) Gujarat Titans batter Jos Buttler credited skipper Shubman Gill for setting up the chase with an aggressive approach in the Power-play as the team beat the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by four wickets.

Chasing a target of 156, the Gujarat Titans rode on Gill’s blistering 43 off 18 balls to seal a four-wicket win in 15.5 overs in Match 42 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday. Buttler himself played a key role with a quickfire 39 off 19 deliveries, ensuring the momentum stayed firmly with GT.

‘A really good batting surface. I think the bowlers deserve a lot of credit there. And one of the biggest differences for us was taking our catches today,’ Buttler said after the match.

Despite the surface being conducive for batting, Buttler acknowledged there was some assistance for the fast bowlers early on.

“With the new ball, it did dip around a bit. There was a bit in it. Some fantastic bowlers on show. Siraj and Rabada have been great for us and obviously in the opposition as well,” he noted.

Buttler revealed that GT planned to disrupt the rhythm of the opposition pacers, a strategy executed perfectly by Gill in the power play. “Shubman talked about trying to put them off their lengths because they’re such good bowlers. So credit to him for going and doing that. When your leader goes out there and does exactly what he spoke about, so calmly, so clinically, against top bowlers, it gives a lot of confidence and breaks the back of the chase very early,” he added.

Reflecting on his own dismissal at a crucial time in the chase, Buttler admitted he took a risk that did not pay off as he got clean bowled. “I got a bit greedy there. I had a big gap at mid-wicket and tried to expose that, but it was a nice piece of bowling from Bhuvi,” he said.

Earlier in the match, Gujarat Titans’ bowlers did well to restrict RCB to 155 in 19.2 overs, with Arshad Khan picking up three wickets, while Rashid Khan and Jason Holder claimed two each. Devdutt Padikkal (40) and Virat Kohli (28) were the main contributors for RCB.

Buttler emphasised the importance of the win as the tournament enters a crucial phase.

“Massive two points for us. We’re in that scenario where we need to hold on to those guys ahead of us, and we play a lot of them as well. So it’s a massive time in the tournament and a really important win today,” he said.

With this victory, the Gujarat Titans strengthened their position in the standings with 10 points in five matches. They will next face the Punjab Kings on May 3.

–IANS

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