How fearless Shubman Gill sucked the venom out of RCB pace attack

Jos Buttler revealed that Shubman Gill had planned a counterattack on Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood when Gujarat Titans faced Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2026 clash on Thursday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Chasing 156, Gill came out all guns blazing, scoring 43 off 18 balls with four fours and three sixes. Riding on his knock, the Titans secured a four-wicket win, chasing the target with 25 balls to spare. Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood had earlier unleashed havoc on Delhi Capitals, reducing them to 13 for six in the powerplay at the Arun Jaitley Stadium a couple of days earlier.

But instead of going into his shell and being circumspect, Gill planned an aggressive counterattack to disrupt the RCB pacers’ lines and lengths. Buttler credited Gill for playing with intent and not allowing the opposition bowlers to settle into any rhythm.

GT vs RCB: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD

“Shubman talked about putting them (RCB pacers) off their lengths and credit to him for doing that. Initially, they are such good bowlers, so we tried to change their lengths,” Buttler said after the match.

‘Shubman Gill’s knock gave us confidence’

Gill began with a four and a six off Bhuvneshwar, but it was in the second over where he went berserk, taking Hazlewood for 24 runs. Gill completely dominated Hazlewood, setting the tone with fearless intent. The GT skipper charged down the track, lofted him over mid-off, cut him behind point, and kept finding gaps with ease.

Gill then unleashed a six over long-on and a flicked six, stamping his authority in a commanding display. Buttler said that Gill’s early assault effectively killed the run chase, putting the Titans firmly in control and making them strong favourites to go past the finish line.

“Phenomenal. He spoke about it before the match. When your leader does what he spoke about against a top bowler, so calmly, clinically, gave us a lot of confidence and broke the back of the chase early,” Buttler added.

Gill has been stupendous for RCB in IPL 2026, having already notched 373 runs from eight matches at an average of 46.62 and a strike rate of 155.41, including three fifties and a top score of 86 against Kolkata Knight Riders.

While Gill was at his very best with the bat, Buttler wasn’t far behind. Batting at No. 3, he struck 39 off 19 balls with two fours and four sixes, taking the required run rate well below a run-a-ball.

With GT still outside the top four, Gill and Buttler have a big task ahead when they next face table-toppers Punjab Kings on Sunday, May 3 in Ahmedabad.

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Published By:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published On:

May 1, 2026 02:00 IST

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