IPL 2016, GL vs RCB as it happened: Karthik fifty helps Gujarat win by six wickets

After 3 overs,Rising Pune Supergiants 17/0 ( Ajinkya Rahane 14 , Faf du Plessis 3)

Rahane and Faf walk out to bat for Pune, with Morkel bowling the first over of the innings, which is a rather tight one as he concedes just two off it. Meanwhile, the Morkel brothers are playing today, but for opposing sides, with Albie replacing Ishant Sharma in Pune. Four runs off the next over by Andre Russell, with R Sathish pulling off a stunning piece of fielding with an acrobatic dive at backward point to prevent a possible boundary off Rahane’s bat. SIX! Rahane flicks a fuller delivery from Morkel towards backward square-leg in the following over to bring up the first boundary of the Pune innings. FOUR! Rahane follows it up with a pull towards midwicket! Good over for RPS, with 11 coming off it.

That’s it from us at Firstpost for the 19th match of IPL 2016 between Gujarat Lions and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Tune in to our live blog for the next game, which starts almost immediately after the end of this one. Catch the live updates here: http://bit.ly/1pvfuN5

Virat Kohli is the Man of the Match for his 63-ball 100, his first-ever T20 century which ultimately went in vain. Has a disappointed look on his face after the defeat.

After 20 overs,Gujarat Lions 182/4 ( Dinesh Karthik (W) 50 , Dwayne Bravo 4)

Watson handed the ball for the final over, with Gujarat Lions needing another seven off the final over. Single off the first by Jadeja. NO-BALL! WATSON HAS OVERSTEPPED! And its it s free-hit for Dinesh Karthik, who is batting on 49 off 38 balls. Can he finish it off with one hit, while bringing up his fifty? Well DK gets his fifty alright, but with a single down the ground. Has played a gem of an innings so far. Four needed off five now. Wide! Three needed off five now. OUT! And its all happening here at Rajkot. Jadeja  attempts a late cut and keeper Rahul dives to his left to complete a brilliant catch! Bravo walks in to bat now. 3 needed off 4. FOUR! Bravo hits the winning runs with a slog over long-on that results in a one-bounce four! Gujarat Lions have won by six wickets with three balls to spare!

After 19 overs,Gujarat Lions 174/3 ( Dinesh Karthik (W) 49 , Ravindra Jadeja 11)

FOUR! What a start to the over! Karthik shuffles to his right, and sweeps the delivery pitched along off-stump over fine-leg for a four! Pressure on RCB now! Singles off the next two, with Karthik back into the strike for the fourth ball. Pushed away towards cow-corner for a couple to keep the strike for the fifth ball. Two off the next ball, with Karthik moving to 45. Final ball of the over. FOUR! Karthik hammers the ball down the ground off a full-toss, with AB failing to stop the boundary! Seven needed off the last over for Kohli’s maiden T20 ton to go in vain!

After 18 overs,Gujarat Lions 160/3 ( Dinesh Karthik (W) 36 , Ravindra Jadeja 10)

Chahal into the attack to bowl his final over of the day. Full and wide to start with, and Raina comes down the track, and gets a single to bring up the fifty stand with Karthik. OUT! Chahal gets the breakthrough by dismissing the opposition captain for 28, with Raina getting the toe end of the bat while coming down the track, and attempting to clear the long-off boundary. 

Abdulla takes a simple catch near the boundary as Gujarat lose their third wicket with 140 on board, with Sir Jadeja walking out to bat. SIX! Jadeja fires almost immediately after walking into bat. Pitched up from Abdulla and outside off, Jadeja slogs it over midwicket to take the pressure off Gujarat! Meanwhile, Aaron Finch has finally been spotted in the dugout, and he is all padded up at the moment. 

Richardson into the attack for the 18th over. DROPPED! Slower delivery from Richardson, and Karthik mishits it back to the bowler, who fumbles up and drops what could have redeemed his terrible performance earlier today. Karthik drives in the fourth ball, piercing through extra-cover, with de Villiers saving a couple of runs with some athletic fielding in the deep. Much better over from Aussie pacer, conceding six off it.

OUT! Raina comes down the track in an attempt to clear the fuller delivery from Chahal over long-off. Gets the toe end of the bat however, as Abdulla takes a simple catch near the boundary to dismiss the Gujarat captain for 28 off 24 balls. The valuable partnership comes to an end, as Jadeja walks out to bat. GL 140/3.

After 15 overs,Gujarat Lions 136/2 ( Suresh Raina (C) 27 , Dinesh Karthik (W) 25)

Chahal returns to the attack for the 13th over. Good running between the wickets displayed by Raina and Karthik, as the duo get eight runs in the over with the ones and twos. Time for the strategic timeout at the end of the 13th. Watson bowls his third over. Meanwhile, the lights are slowly coming on at the SCA Stadium. FOUR! Flicked a fuller delivery between leg and middle towards deep square-leg! 

Shamsi comes in to bowl his final over of the match, having bowled superbly so far to record figures of 1 for 16 from three overs. Couple of close chances to get a dismissal, including a run-out opportunity, as well as another caught-and-bowler chance that could have seen the back of Karthik. Six runs off the over, with Gujarat Lions moving to 136/2 after 15 overs. Need another 45 to win from 30 balls.

Just to give you an idea of how much a Superman Kohli has been this year with the bat!

Virat Kohli-A total of 992 runs at an average of 110 in 2016 in T20S.
A synonym of "Consistency"#GLvsRCB #RCBvsGL pic.twitter.com/6d45r7CgtI

— HARI KIRAN (@harikiran92) April 24, 2016

After 12 overs,Gujarat Lions 113/2 ( Suresh Raina (C) 16 , Dinesh Karthik (W) 13)

Watson returns into the attack for the 10th over, and we have two new batsmen at the crease. The momentum is suddenly with the RCB right now, with both the Gujarat openers back in the pavilion now. FOUR! Short and outside off, and Karthik cuts it through backward point! Bouncer off the next ball, and Karthik gets an awkward slap towards deep extra-cover while attempting a pull, getting a couple in the process. Eight runs off the 10th over, with GL reaching 95/2 at the halfway mark. 

FOUR! Raina gets into the attacking mode now, coming down the ground and launching the length ball from Shamsi for a straight boundary! Brings up the 100 for GL in the 11th over as well. Nearly traps Raina lbw in the following delivery with yet another wrong un! Richardson back into the attack, having conceded 37 runs from his two overs so far while dismissing Smith. Keeps it tight for the first four balls, before Raina drives the fifth one through extra-cover to bring up his second boundary! Wide off the next one. Single to end the over, with 11 coming off it. 

GL need another 68 to win from eight overs, at a required run-rate of 8.50.

After 9 overs,Gujarat Lions 87/2 ( Suresh Raina (C) 5 , Dinesh Karthik (W) 0)

Shamshi into the attack for the first over after the end of the powerplay. Meanwhile, Raina faces his first delivery and gets off the mark in the first ball of the over. Concedes seven off it, with Baz and Raina deal in ones and twos in this over. GL keep it quiet in the following over by Abdullah as well,with another five coming off it. FOUR! Full toss along off, and McCullum sweeps it away towards deep square-leg! 

OUT! McCullum’s stupendous knock comes to an end with a score of 42 off 24 balls as he serves a return catch to South African chinaman Shamsi after failing to read a googly. Massive blow for Gujarat, who lose their second wicket with 87 on board. Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik comes out to bat, and there is still no sign of Aaron Finch.

After 6 overs,Gujarat Lions 72/1 ( Brendon McCullum 33 , Suresh Raina (C) 0)

FOUR! Such power displayed by Smith as he hammers the ball down the ground! Pierces the gap a couple of deliveries later to get his third four of the innings! 10 runs off this over, with 26 coming off the last two. Gujarat have already raced to 41 in just four overs! Watson to bowl the fifth. FOUR! McCullum dances down the track, slightly to his left, and slaps the length ball straight down the ground! The former New Zealand captain is looking to catch up with his partner, given that the latter has scored most of the runs so far. 

OUT! Smith’s innings comes to an end after he chips a slower ball straight to de Villiers at long-on! Surprised by the change of pace, Smith is furious with himself as GL lose their first wicket with 47 on board! Five wides! Pitched outside leg, and the ball beats the keeper to run off to long-leg. SIX! Pulled majestically towards deep square-leg! FOUR! McCullum back to his red-hot form that he is known for. Sarfaraz tries his best at deep midwicket, but fails to stop the ball! SIX MORE! McCullum almost sent that into the orbit, clearing the deep square-leg boundary. FOUR! 25 runs off the over, and a wicket, with McCullum plays the final ball straight down the ground!

OUT! Richardson gets the breakthrough and ends the destructive partnership after a diastrous first over! Slower ball along off, and Smith chips it to AB de Villiers at long-on. Did not get enough power to the shot, perhaps surprised by the change of pace. Anyway, GL lose their first wicket with 47 on board. Smith departs after an entertaining, and valuable cameo of 32 off 20 balls.

After 3 overs,Gujarat Lions 31/0 ( Dwayne Smith 22 , Brendon McCullum 7)

After a quiet first over, Smith and McCullum go hammer and tongs against Kane Richardson in the second. Chahal comes in to bowl, his second over, hoping to undo the damage caused in the previous over. SIX! Hammered over midwicket by Smith off Chahal as he moves to the 20s now! Gujarat Lions are off to a flying start!

After 2 overs,Gujarat Lions 15/0 ( Dwayne Smith 8 , Brendon McCullum 6)

And the openers get into the act after a silent first over. A monster straight six from smith and a four from McCullum. If the two stay on for some time the chase won’t look that big.

After 1 overs,Gujarat Lions 3/0 ( Dwayne Smith 1 , Brendon McCullum 1)

RCB straighaway delves into spin. Chahal comes in to bowl the first over. And it’s a cautious start from Gujarat Lions. No Aaron Finch, it’s McCullum and Dwayne Smith who have opened. Just 3 off the first over.

Mortals compete with others...immortals keep raising the bar on their own. Now, Kohli has a T20 hundred too. What next? #Respect #GLvRCB

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 24, 2016

Kohli hits his 1st T20 century on Sachin's birthday. 100 runs, 63 balls, 11 fours and a six! https://t.co/CPjbw0LUsY pic.twitter.com/2rI0BS9vZ6

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) April 24, 2016

Unmatched, top class, master class from Virat Kohli again. A 100 @IPL now. #superman effort #GLvRCB

— Anjum Chopra (@chopraanjum) April 24, 2016

100! Kohli hits a 4 to reach his first ever T20 hundred off the last ball of #RCB innings. Takes the orange cap. pic.twitter.com/JWtMvsaQir

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) April 24, 2016

After 20 overs,Bangalore 180/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 100 , Lokesh Rahul 51)

Bravo to bowl the final over. Single for Kohli off the first ball, with Rahul returning the strike to his skipper off the second. 14 needed for Kohli to complete his ton. SIX! Kohli moves to 92 with a well-timed six over midwicket! FOUR! Kohli moves to 96 with a straight, one-bounce boundary straight down the ground! FOUR! Kohli gets to his hundred off the final ball, and Kohli brings up his first ever T20 hundred! What a knock by the RCB skipper, arguably the best batsman in the world right now! Full delivery outside off, and Kohli slices the delivery over short third man to get to the milestone! RCB reach 180 for the loss of two wickets in 20 overs.

After 19 overs,Bangalore 163/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 85 , Lokesh Rahul 50)

Fifty for Rahul in 34 deliveries. Rahul was earlier replaced by Kedar Jadhav, and he was included only after Mandeep Singh was ruled out last minute due to a split webbing. Makes the most of the opportunity today! FOUR! Slow off-cutter from Kulkarni, and Kohli muscles it over deep extra-cover, bringing up the 100 partnership with Rahul. Takes a single off the last ball to retain strike, and is 15 away from his first hundred of the ongoing tournament!

After 18 overs,Bangalore 152/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 75 , Lokesh Rahul 49)

Kulkarni back into the attack for his second and final spell in the 16th over. SIX! Good over from Kulkarni in the first four balls, before Rahul pulls a slow bouncer over midwicket for the ball to fly over the ropes! SIX! Consecutive big hits for Rahul! This time fuller delivery outside off, and Rahul lofts it over wide long-off! Ruins what would have been a brilliant over by Kulkarni. 

Praveen Kumar into the attack now. FOUR! Rare misfield from Brendon McCullum at cow-corner, resulting in Kohli’s eighth boundary! Two consecutive boundaries from Rahul’s bat — towards deep midwicket and deep cover-point respectively, as Praveen goes for a rather expensive one in the 17th, conceding 16 off it! SUPERB FIELDING! McCullum makes up for his slip-up with some brilliant work at deep cover to save a couple of runs for his side. Rolls the ball back in in the last nano-second while still airborne. Meanwhile, RCB bring up the 150 in the 18th over.

After 15 overs,Bangalore 115/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 61 , Lokesh Rahul 26)

Dwayne Bravo into the attack, with Gujarat hoping to contain the run-rate. FOUR! Rahul however, hammers a slower full-toss from Bravo through the covers off the second ball. SIX! Length ball outside off from Jakati, and Rahul comes down the track and lofts that over the umpire’s head for a straight six, the first of the match. 

Fifty for Kohli! He brings up the milestone with a double in the fourth ball of the 14th over, and takes 40 balls to reach the milestone. His sixth half-century in the last seven 20-over games! And its time for the strategic time-out, with RCB starting to re-acccelerate their innings! Bravo bowls the 15th, and starts off with a couple of slower full-tosses. FOUR! Full, quicker and outside off from Bravo, and Kohli squeezes it past short third man to bring up the fifty partnership with Rahul!

After 12 overs,Bangalore 85/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 46 , Lokesh Rahul 12)

FOUR! Kohli moves to 40 with a boundary towards midwicket, getting down on one knee and sweeping the fuller delivery from Tambe. Eight runs came off each of the last two overs, with a boundary in each. Bangalore are scoring at seven and a half per over, which they will look to accelerate in the latter overs. Couple of slow overs for RCB ensue, with just nine coming off the next two, with Bangalore reaching 85/2 in 12.

After 9 overs,Bangalore 68/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 35 , Lokesh Rahul 7)

Yet another spinner introduced into the attack after the powerplay, with Jadeja set to bowl the seventh over. Better over for Gujarat, with Jadeja conceding ficve off the it. Change of ends for Tambe. OUT! The veteran leg-spinner does it for his skipper, removing the dangerous de Villiers for 20 before he could form yet another breakaway partnership with Kohli, as RCB lose their second wicket with 59 on board. FOUR! Rahul, who replaces de Villiers, gets his first boundary with a reverse-sweep off a length ball, with the ball flying over the slip fielder due to a top-edge.

OUT! Tambe does it for his skipper, as he gets rid of the dangerous ABD, preventing him from forming another breakaway partnership with Kohli! De Villiers attempts a loft off a half-volley that does not turn much, and he serves a catch to opposition skipper Raina at short cover while attempting to clear the circle! De Villiers departs for 20, as RCB lose their second wicket with 59 on board in the eighth over. And its time for the time-out now!

After 6 overs,Bangalore 50/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 30 , AB de Villiers 14)

De Villiers gets his first boundary of the innings with a front-foot cut off Kulkarni to send the ball scurrying through the covers. Spin introduced early in the innings, with Tambe bowling the fifth over. FOUR! Kohli welcomes him with a boundary towards wide long-off! Four more! Consecutive boundaries for Kohli! Ball stayed low outside off, and Kohli drove it through cover point! Singles in the remainder of the over, with 11 coming off it. 

Spin at both ends, with Jakati bowling the final over of the powerplay! FOUR! Punched on the backfoot by Kohli through the covers! Meanwhile, its a tug-of-war between Kohli and SRH skipper David Warner for the Orange Cap, with Kohli zooming ahead now. FOUR! De Villiers moves to double with figures with a slash off a half-volley through the covers. RCB reach 50/1 after 6 overs.

That protection level! :P #IPL2016 #IPL #RCBvsGL #RCBvGL #GLvsRCB #GLvRCB pic.twitter.com/N3ztmChkTJ

— Troll Cricket (@TrollCric8) April 24, 2016

After 3 overs,Bangalore 19/1 ( Virat Kohli (C) 12 , AB de Villiers 1)

The players walk out to the field, with Shane Watson opening the innings alongside skipper Virat Kohli today. 

Well, well, well…what do we have here? Aussie umpire Bruce Oxenford is wearing protective gear on his left arm, with something like a large plastic disc over his hand. Can’t blame him, given that he will be standing right in front of the likes of Watson, Kohli, AB, etc. 

Meanwhile, just two runs conceded off the first over, bowled by Praveen Kumar. 

FOUR! First boundary of the match, with Watson flicking Kulkarni’s first delivery towards midwicket! OUT! Kulkarni gets the last laugh after getting hit for a boundary first ball, foxing Watson with a slow off-cutter that results in a catch for Jadeja at cover off a mishit from Watson. Consecutive fours! Praveen barely gives anything away in the first four deliveries of the third over, before Kohli spoils it with a couple of elegant shots to get back-to-back boundaries!

Another change in the RCB XI — Mandeep Singh was injured during practice, and Rahul will replace him in the side. Jadhav however, will be keeping the wickets.

OUT! Clever change of pace by Kulkarni, and Watson is foxed as he gets a mis-hit while attempted to slog over long-on. The ball goes high up in the air over cover, and Jadeja takes a simple catch as the opener departs for a run-a-ball six. RCB 8/1.

​GL XI: Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina (c), Dwayne Smith, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhawal Kulkarni, Praveen Kumar, Shadab Jakati, Pravin Tambe.

RCB XI: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Sarfaraz Khan, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Stuart Binny, Kane Richardson, Iqbal Abdulla, Yuzvendra Chahal, Tabraiz Shamshi, Mandeep Singh.

Two changes for each side: Gujarat Lions replace Steyn and Nath with Dwayne Smith and Shadab Jakati, while RCB opt to bring in Chahal and Jadhav in place of Rahul and Harshal. 

Raina: When you are playing against Virat, you want him to bat first. You don’t want Virat to chase.

Royal Challengers Bangalore win the toss, and skipper Virat Kohli opts to bat first (remember, RCB have won twice batting first!).

This is the first time Kohli has won the toss in five games in the ongoing IPL so far.

Squads:

Gujarat Lions: Suresh Raina (c), Sarabjit Ladda, Akshdeep Nath, Amit Mishra, Dwayne Bravo, Paras Dogra, Eklavya Dwivedi, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Shadab Jakati, Dinesh Karthik, Shivil Kaushik, Dhawal Kulkarni, Praveen Kumar, Brendon McCullum, Pradeep Sangwan, Jaydev Shah, Umang Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Dale Steyn, Pravin Tambe and Andrew Tye.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), Varun Aaron, Abu Nechim, S Arvind, Stuart Binny, Yuzuvendra Chahal, AB de Villiers, Praveen Dubey, Chris Gayle, Travis Head, Iqbal Abdulla, Kedar Jadhav, Akshay Karnewar, Sarfraz Khan, Vikramjeet Malik, Mandeep Singh, Adam Milne, Harshal Patel, KL Rahul, Parveez Rasool, Kane Richardson, Sachin Baby, Mitchell Starc, Vikas Tokas, Shane Watson, David Wiese and Tabraiz Shamsi.

Hello and welcome to Firstpost’s live coverage of the 19th match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) between Gujarat Lions and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. This is Amit Banerjee, and I will be presenting to you the live updates from the match.