[Watch] Swapnil Singh's 6 wins the game for RCB after overcoming a middle-order collapse in IPL 2024 clash vs GT
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) overcame a middle-order collapse to register a four-wicket win against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Saturday, May 4.
In the 52nd match of IPL 2024 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and invited the opposition side to bat first. On a tricky surface, GT could only score 147 runs before losing all the wickets.
Du Plessis then hit a blistering half-century inside the powerplay to power RCB to 92 in just 5.5 overs and put them in the driver's seat in the chase. However, his dismissal on 64 (23) in the sixth over triggered a massive collapse in the Royal Challengers' batting line-up. The hosts lost their way for a while as they crumbled to 117/6 in a few moments from 92/0.
Veteran wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik (21*) came in at number 7 and hit a few boundaries to calm the anxiety of millions of RCB fans across the world. Swapnil Singh complemented him well with a cameo of 15* (9) and finished the innings in style with a six on the fourth ball of the 14th over.
You can watch the match-winning hit in the video below:
"Those two sweep shots turned out to be very important"- Dinesh Karthik on Swapnil Singh's cameo after RCB's victory vs GT in IPL 2024 encounter
After the match, Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Dinesh Karthik revealed the conversation he had with Swapnil Singh during their match-winning 35-run partnership. He said:
"I told Swapnil to play for the ball. Then he asked me if sweep was the option and I said if you are trying to play it don't play half hearted and those two sweep shots turned out to be very important."
Reviewing the game and his team's performance, Karthik added:
"Yesterday it rained, there was bit of moisture. Was a good toss to win for us but no matter what the pitch it is, it is quite a task to keep them to a score we did.
"The way Faf and Virat batted I don't think we could have played those shots if we batted first but it's also there class. It's a different sort of pressure. It's different than chasing a big score. The basic cricketing skills comes through."
RCB will next face PBKS in IPL 2024 on Thursday (May 9) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.