'They're off the ventilator, but still in ICU...': Ajay Jadeja on RCB's turnaround

Royal Challengers Bengaluru`s Glenn Maxwell (R) reacts as he walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal (Pic: AFP)

Former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja said that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)'s bowling outshined the batters in their IPL 2024 win over Gujarat Titans (GT) on Saturday and said that the team of "off the ventilator, but still in ICU".

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) managed to survive a middle-over scare of quick wickets despite an explosive partnership between skipper Faf Du Plessis and Virat Kohli to record a four-wicket win against Gujarat Titans (GT) in their IPL 2024 match on Saturday.

Following the game, Ajay said on JioCinema, "We are excited about today's match after seeing Virat and Faf bat. But the real work that was done, was by the bowlers, an aspect RCB has historically struggled at. The bowling department has started to click for them now, and we are talking about the business end of the season, this is the point where realistic chances of winning come from momentum."

"More than momentum, it is about the mentality of the team where you know if you are in a bad situation, someone will take you out of it... Today, it seemed like RCB picked the right road while Gujarat was on the other side. Who will reach their goal? It is a very tough ask still. The chinks in the armour are visible, what happened at the end. But the chance is there. They're off the ventilator but they're still in the ICU," he added.

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Coming to the IPL 2024 match, RCB elected to field first after winning the toss. GT was 19/3 at one point. Then, a 61-run partnership between Shahrukh Khan (37 in 24 balls, with five fours and a six) and David Miller (30 in 20 balls, with two fours and two sixes) helped GT make a brief comeback.

RCB kept taking regular wickets and once again reduced GT to 87/5. Then, a 44-run partnership between Rahul Tewatia (35 in 21 balls, with five fours and a six) and Rashid Khan (18 in 14 balls, with two fours and a six) took GT beyond the 100-run mark. RCB bundled out GT for 147 runs in 19.3 overs.

Yash Dayal (2/21), Vijaykumar Vyshak (2/23) and Mohammed Siraj (2/29) were among the top bowlers for RCB. Cameron Green and Karn Sharma took a wicket each.

Coming to the run chase, RCB started off brilliantly with Faf Du Plessis (64 in 23 balls, with 10 fours and three sixes) and Virat Kohli (42 in 27 balls, with two fours and four sixes) putting up a 92-run stand.

After that RCB lost its way due to a fantastic spell from Joshua Little (4/45) and Noor Ahmed (2/23). However, Dinesh Karthik (21') and Swapnil Singh (15') guided the team to a four-wicket win with 38 balls left.

(With agency inputs)