Right then, the Titans extend their dominance over the Royals, making it six wins out of seven encounters between the two sides. Next up in the 2025 Indian Premier League, we head down south to Bengaluru, where the Royal Challengers Bengaluru take on the only unbeaten team in the competition, the Delhi Capitals. It's set to be an exciting clash at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, with the first ball scheduled for 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but make sure to join us early for all the pre-match build-up. Until then, take care and goodbye!

Sai Sudharsan is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his brilliant knock of 82 off just 53 balls, which included 8 fours and 3 sixes. He collects the award and is up for a chat. He expresses that IPL is the tournament where you need some momentum at the start. Says it is always a joy to contribute to the team and get a win. Informs that in the beginning, the wicket was seaming a bit, and hence, he took his time to settle. Says he took the game deep after the Powerplay. Adds they wanted to have wickets in hand, and it worked well for them. Says that they are clear on what they need to do. Stresses that if they lose some early wickets, the set batter has to play till the end. Also mentions the strong hitters coming in the backend. Says if the top order gives them the platform, they can launch big in the last five overs. About his approach, he talks about seeing what he can do better all the time. Adds that he tries to improve his awareness and just writes down what he wants to work on. Mentions about working on his basics, which is working nicely for him.

The skipper of the Gujarat Titans, Shubman Gill, shares that it was a good total to have on the board and acknowledges that the first 3-4 overs weren’t easy. He mentions that the way Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler batted was tremendous and adds that they would gladly take 217 any day of the week. Gill states that the bowling effort was clinical and highlights that everyone is chipping in, which he believes is the hallmark of a great team. He expresses that he’s pleased to have the kind of bowlers they do in the side, as it makes his job a lot easier as captain.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

Prasidh Krishna of the Gujarat Titans is up for a quick chat. He begins by crediting the team and the bowlers for the way they are taking wickets. Says there was some extra bounce in the pitch, and he tried to take advantage of that to target the ribs of the batters. Says their motto is to be adaptable and read the conditions early. Reflects that they don’t really see who picks wickets and who doesn’t, as he feels the game changes quickly after one good delivery in T20s. Adds they try to bowl quiet overs that help the next bowler from the other end. Mentions as a bowling unit, they are bowling really well, and that’s the reason that the wicket columns are filling up. Concludes by telling that they were lucky not to have much dew around.

The captain of Rajasthan Royals, Sanju Samson, says that they gave away 15-20 runs too many. Shares that whenever they wanted to up the ante, they lost a wicket. Mentions that when he was batting with Hetmyer, the ball was coming on nicely, and he felt they were on cue to chase it down.  He says they both had a decent partnership and then lost a flurry of wickets, and that’s where they lost the game. Says there was some purchase in the wicket, and hence, they decided to bowl first. Further says that with someone like Jofra upfront, they know they can take early wickets. States that they could not execute their plans with the ball and that they will try to work on that. He says when they lose games, the call at the toss is always in question, but he thought the conditions required them to bowl first, and hence they went with that call. Says they want to be a team which is good at winning games when they bat first as well as when they bowl first.

Earlier, Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to field first, with Jofra Archer setting the tone early for the Royals through a fiery opening spell. Despite the early heat, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler dug in to build a solid platform. The innings revolved around Sai's composed 82, with brisk cameos from Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia helping the Titans post 217. RR felt the absence of Wanindu Hasaranga, who missed the game due to personal reasons, as apart from Archer, the rest of the attack was taken to the cleaners.

From there on, the Titans turned the screws, and Hetmyer was left fighting a lone battle with little support from the other end. His dismissal proved to be the final nail in the coffin, as Gujarat sealed a comprehensive win. Among the takeaways for the Titans, Rashid Khan returning to form with wickets will be a major positive. On the flip side, from RR’s perspective, conceding as many as 17 runs in wides is something they will need to tidy up moving forward.

The Royals had a far-from-ideal start, losing a couple of early wickets, but Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag came together to land a solid counterpunch. Just when the momentum was shifting, a contentious caught-behind decision against Parag swung it back in GT’s favour, and as it often happens, one brought two. Samson then found an ally in Shimron Hetmyer as the duo looked to rebuild, but just as their stand was starting to gain traction, Samson perished.

Gujarat Titans make it four wins on the trot as their juggernaut continues to gather steam! This win takes them to the summit of the points table. The Royals, who came into this clash with back-to-back wins, have been halted in their tracks and the margin of defeat further dents their already negative net run rate.