NEW DELHI: A century from Sai Sudharsan was not enough for Gujarat Titans to return to winning ways as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) chased down 206 easily to beat Shubman Gill’s side by five wickets in their IPL 2026 match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday, with Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal leading the way in the chase. Chasing 206, RCB got an early setback when Jacob Bethell was dismissed quickly. After that, Kohli and Devdutt took control and added 115 runs for the second wicket, putting the home side in a strong position.Kohli made 81 while Devdutt scored 55, and their partnership ensured the asking rate stayed under control. RCB completed the chase in 18.5 overs and moved to second place on the points table with 10 points.Kohli got a lifeline when Washington Sundar dropped him on zero off Mohammed Siraj. After that, he settled in and handled Prasidh Krishna and Kagiso Rabada well.He hit Prasidh for two fours, flicked Rabada for a six, and also pulled Rashid Khan over mid-wicket for another six. Kohli reached his fifty in 30 balls.At the other end, Devdutt matched him stroke for stroke. He hit Prasidh for two sixes and also took on Rashid for a maximum. He reached his fifty 10 balls quicker than Kohli.Rashid finally broke the stand with a delivery that bowled Devdutt. Kohli, who had looked in control throughout, was later dismissed by Jason Holder, dragging the ball back onto his stumps.RCB then had a brief collapse as captain Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma also got out, leaving them at 173 for five.But Krunal Pandya made 23 off 12 balls and Tim David added 10 to take RCB home. It was their fourth win at Chinnaswamy in five matches this season.Earlier, Sai Sudharsan scored 100 to help Gujarat Titans post 205 for three after being put in to bat.Opening with captain Shubman Gill, Sudharsan built a 128-run partnership for the first wicket. Gill made 32 off 24 balls, but Sudharsan was the main scorer and dominated the stand.The left-hander made 46 runs in the powerplay and reached his fifty in 33 balls by hitting Romario Shepherd for a six. His next fifty came in just 24 balls as he attacked the spin of Krunal and Suyash Sharma.During the innings, Sudharsan also became the fastest batter to reach 2,000 IPL runs. He reached his hundred with a single off Suyash.He was dropped on 91 by Suyash off his own bowling but could not continue much longer after the century. He was out for exactly 100, giving a return catch to Josh Hazlewood.After his dismissal, RCB pulled things back well. From 174 for two in the 17th over, Gujarat managed only 31 more runs in the last four overs. Holder’s unbeaten 23 off 10 balls helped them cross 200, but it was not enough as RCB completed the chase comfortably.
