In a way, Gujarat Titans is a throwback to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru of yesteryear.

Back then, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle used to do the bulk of the scoring and the rest of the batting line-up would be comparatively airy. GT of today is eerily similar, with the troika of Shubman Gill, B. Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler expected to do all the heavy-lifting.

On Friday at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here, GT’s biggest test against an RCB outfit that operates at full throttle from ball one will be to prove that its methods – even if they seem anachronistic – are effective enough.

“I don’t think we’ll suddenly change,” said Vikram Solanki, GT’s director of cricket, on match-eve. “We’ll remain consistent in the way we go about our cricket altogether. We trust in a method and formula, and we trust the players that have delivered.”

Just that, in the most recent match, the players didn’t. GT lost by a crushing 99 runs to Mumbai Indians, a defeat Solanki attributed to “a number of errors”. It is imperative that the middle- and lower-orders contribute, especially Rahul Tewatia and M. Shahrukh Khan who have totalled 84 runs in 10 combined visits to the crease.

RCB too is coming in following a defeat – to Delhi Capitals at home by six wickets. But that reverse was only its second this season from six matches, and it boasts of such a well-set team that even a generational talent like England’s Jacob Bethell has had to warm the bench.

Friday will be the last time RCB will play in the Garden City this campaign, and there will be significant attention on a pitch which has not aided free-flowing strokeplay from the get-go. The city is also in the midst of a searing summer, but the RCB faithful will want nothing more than a rain of runs.

Published on Apr 23, 2026