Royal Challengers Bengaluru continued their fightback with another dominant nine-wicket win against Gujarat Titans in the 45th match of the IPL 2024 on Sunday. The bottom-placed RCB produced a brilliant batting display to chase down a 201-run target in just 16 overs at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.
English batter Will Jacks stole the attention by smashing a match-winning century in just 41 balls. Virat Kohli contributed with 70* off 44 balls to become the first cricketer to reach a 500-run mark in the IPL 2024. After reaching 500, Kohli equalled David Warner's unique IPL record.
The RCB stalwart recorded 500 or more runs in the IPL season for the seventh time in tournament history. David Warner previously held this feat with 500-plus runs in a season for seven times.
Kohli has scored 500+ runs in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2023, and 2024 editions to continue to dominate the leading runscorer chart with 7763 runs in 239 IPL innings. Warner is unlikely to reach the 500-plus mark in the ongoing edition having scored just 167 runs in seven innings.
Meanwhile, the Bengaluru-based franchise successfully chased down a 200+ record for only the second time in their history and for the first time since 2010. They also managed to achieve a historic feat by recording a successful 200+ chase with the most balls remaining in IPL history. This win also emerged as the first one to chase a 200+ target with nine or more wickets remaining in the IPL.
But despite registering a record-laden win, Faf du Plessis' side remains at the bottom of the IPL 2024 points table with just three wins in their first ten games. RCB's chances of securing a playoff qualification remain outside as they need to win all of their remaining four league-stage games and also depend on other teams' results.
