The 19th match of the season saw Gujarat Lions(GL) welcoming Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) at their home ground Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot.

RCB captain Virat Kohli decided to bat first after winning the toss and looking at the pitch it was a right decision. Apart from that, in a tournament where chasing has been the norm, RCB are the only team to have defended a total twice.

Gujarat Lions were looking to get back to winning ways while Royal Challengers Bangalore were looking to build some momentum after winning their last match.

Riding on Virat Kohli’s first IPL century RCB scored a competitive 180. GL chased down the score with the help of the useful contribution from all the top for batsmen.

Score:

RCB: 180/2
GL: 182/4

Player ratings:

1.Dwayne Smith:3/5
Dwayne Smith was going all guns blazing in his first IPL game this season. Aaron Finch wasn’t present on the field for a while during RCB’s innings and hence could not open, giving Smith the chance to open. Scored a quickfire 32 to set the tone for a big chase.

2.Brendon McCullum: 3.5/5
Scored 42 off just 24 balls to set the momentum.

3.Suresh Raina: 2.5/5
Was hitting the ball decently but lost his wicket at a very crucial point.

4.Dinesh Karthik: 4/5
Played his best innings of the tournament so far to take his side home. Hit only 3 fours in his innings but kept pressuring the opposition with his running between the wickets. Anchored the innings beautifully

5.Ravindra Jadeja: 3/5
Bowled an economical spell of three overs conceding only 17 and had a good partnership with Dinesh Karthik in the end to take his side
to a comfortable position.

6.Dwayne Bravo: 1.5/5
Hit the winning for in the last over but was very expensive with the ball conceding 43 from his 4 overs.

7. Praveen Kumar: 2/5
Could not take any wicket and was a bit expensive too.

8.Dhawal Kulkarni: 2/5
Dismissed the dangerous Shane Watson early on but conceded 39 from his 4 overs.

9.Shadab Jakati: 3/28

Had an average day on the field. Could not do much with the bowl.

10.Pravin Tambe:2.5/5
Dismissed the dangerous AB de Villiers ann bowled a decent quota of 3 overs.

11. Aaron Finch: 0.5/5
Did not bat.