RCB vs GT Highlights, IPL 2023: Gujarat eliminate RCB; Mumbai join Titans, CSK and Lucknow in playoffs

FOUR! FOUR! Michael Bracewell takes on Mohit Sharma in his first over as Bangalore continue to focus on runs despite losing three quick wickets. Bracewell fires back-to-back boundaries down the ground to put pressure on Mohit. 100 comes up for RCB as well with those back-to-back boundaries. RCB 103/3 after 10.5 overs

Virat Kohli 48* | Noor Ahmad 2/31 | Rashid Khan 1/18

OUT! Stumped down the leg side! Noor Ahmad grabs his second as he outsmarts Mahipal Lomror. Noor saw Lomror coming down the track and fired in a quicker one down the leg side. A wide but Wriddhiman Saha whips off the bails in a flash. Mahipal Lomror walks back for 1 and RCB are in a bit of trouble after a fast start. RCB 84/3 after 9.2 overs

OUT! Bowled! Second wicket in quick succession for Gujarat Titans as Rashid Khan castles Glenn Maxwell with a beauty. A perfectly pitched wrong'un and Maxwell misses it completely. The ball crashes into Maxwell's middle stump as he makes the long walk back to the pavilion. Maxwell departs for 11. RCB 80/2 after 8.2 overs

SIX! FOUR! Looks like Glenn Maxwell has come out all guns blazing. A towering SIX over long-on followed by a cracking cover drive. Maxwell has raced to 11 off just three balls. RCB 79/1 after 7.5 overs

OUT! Noor Ahmad gets the much-needed opening breakthrough for the Titans. Faf du Plessis walks back for 28 as Noor gets lucky. A tossed up delivery from Noor just outside off and du Plessis was looking to hit it inside-out over extra-cover. A faint edge and the ball hits keeper Saha's right pad and lobs straight to Rahul Tewatia at first slip. RCB 67/1 after 7.1 overs RCB 67/1 after 7.1 overs

0 1 1 1 1 1 - After a sizzling powerplay where Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis scored at over 10 RPO, Rashid Khan bowls a tight 7th over. Just 5 runs came off it in form of singles. Noor Ahmad to continue from the other end for Titans. RCB 67/0 after 7 overs

Virat Kohli 36* | Faf du Plessi 25*

4 2 1 1 1 1 - A 10-run first over from ace spinner Rashid Khan. Virat Kohli started the over with a boundary to extra-cover and then both Kohli and Faf du Plessis rotate the strike off remaining 5 balls to collect 10 runs from it. Noor Ahmad to bowl the final over of the powerplay. RCB 53/0 after 5 overs

FOUR! FOUR! FOUR! Bangalore are off to a sizzling start in this do-or-die contest. Both Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, firing from both ends. After Faf collected 16 runs off the previous Shami over, Virat now slams consecutive boundaries off Yash Dayal. All through the leg side. This has been a blazing start from Virat and Faf. RCB 38/0 after 3.3 overs

0 4 4 4 0 4 - Faf du Plessis takes Mohammed Shami to the cleaners in his second over. Four boundaries came off it as Bangalore are clearly up and running in this must-win contest. Shami was all over the place in his second over and Faf mercilessly smoked him to all corners of the park. Yash Dayal to continue from the other end for Gujarat. RCB 26/0 after 3 overs

FOUR! FOUR! Back-to-back boundaries for Faf du Plessis as the RCB skipper tees off in this must-win game. Fires consecutive boundaries off Mohammed Shami. On the first occasion, Faf danced down the ground and whacked the ball over the mid-on fielder and then on the very next ball, Shmi went short, slightly down the leg side and Faf pulled him in style to the deep fence. RCB 18/0 after 2.4 overs

0 0 0 1 1 2 - Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal is off to a perfect start from the other end. Just 4 runs came off his first over. Both RCB openers Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis are off the mark. Mohammed Shami to continue from the other end. RCB 10/0 after 2 overs

0 0 Wd 4 0 1 0 - A decent first over from Mohammed Shami despite conceding a boundary third-ball. 6 runs came off it. Yash Dayal to share the new ball with Shami from the other end. RCB 6/0 after 1 over

FOUR! First boundary of the evening comes off the bat of Virat Kohli. Mohammed Shami goes wide outside off and Kohli lofts it over the in-field as the ball races to the cover fence. Kohli never intended to keep the ball down and went hard at it. Times it it to perfection for his first boundary. RCB 5/0 after 0.3 overs

Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis are in the middle to begin the innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Mohammed Shami to start the proceedings for Gujarat Titans. A slip in place for Shami. Kohli on strike. Here we go!

Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Hardik Pandya(c), Dasun Shanaka, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami, Yash Dayal

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Michael Bracewell, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik(w), Harshal Patel, Wayne Parnell, Mohammed Siraj, Vijaykumar Vyshak

Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya wins the toss and decides to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Mumbai Indians (210/2) have comprehensively beaten Sunrisers Hyderabad (200/5) by 8 wickets in the penultimate league game of the season, riding on a sensational 100 not out from Cameron Green. They have now sneaked into the top-4 and have pushed Royal Challengers Bangalore down to the fifth spot. RCB now need to win against Gujarat Titans to pip MI to the playoffs.

South African Faf du Plessis, who holds the Orange Cap for scoring the most runs, has so far amassed 631 runs in 13 games. He also leads the chart for hitting the most sixes (34). Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is sixth in the list for top scorers with 438 runs.

The match against Gujarat, however, is going to be a different ball game altogether considering the kind of resources RCB's opponents possess and the confidence they carry into their matches. It will be interesting to see how the trio of Kohli, du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell go about their tasks against the defending champions.

Entering this game, both teams are coming off big wins, GT over Sunrisers Hyderabad by 34 runs and RCB by eight wickets over the 2016 champions by eight wickets after a sparkling hundred by Kohli, his sixth overall across IPL. RCB would certainly take confidence from the manner in which they chased down a target of 186 in their previous outing against SRH, with both Kohli and du Plessis firing.

Besides playing in front of their beloved home crowd that will back them vociferously, the other advantage for du Plessis' side is that they feature in the last game of the league round, by which time RCB would know the outcome of the duel between MI and SRH in Mumbai. However, it will mean nothing if they lose to defending champions Gujarat Titans, a formidable outfit without an iota of doubt and led admirably by star all-rounder Hardik Pandya throughout the season, the reward of which is a top-two finish in the league stage with a real chance of retaining the title they won in their inaugural season.

With batting maestro Virat Kohli back at his absolute best and skipper Faf du Plessis leading from the front with 600-plus runs this season, RCB will hope their dazzling opening duo fires in this must-win game for them.

Playing the last league stage match, Royal Challengers Bangalore would know what exactly is required of them to qualify for the playoffs, when they face table-toppers Gujarat Titans.