Royal Challengers Bengaluru have developed a particular liking for Pitch No. 6 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, a strip that proved decisive for them in 2025 when they finally ended a long wait for an IPL title. Gujarat Titans have also enjoyed a measure of success on the same ground: earlier this season they chased 180 against Kolkata Knight Riders in the last over, and last year they successfully hunted down a 204-run target against Delhi Capitals at this venue. Ahead of their IPL meeting, RCB head coach Andy Flower pointed out the unique character of the surface. “We’re playing on the pitch six, which is a 75% red soil. It’s the same strip that we played the final on last year. And it usually plays very well, that strip. So we’d anticipate it playing very well again,” he said.
While the pitch is only one piece of the puzzle, the teams’ overall profiles offer a sharper contrast. RCB enter the contest with a more settled and complete batting unit, sitting second in the standings after winning six of their eight matches. GT’s campaign, in comparison, has been marked by volatility, with their eight games split evenly between victories and defeats. That inconsistency is also visible in the numbers: RCB have struck 90 sixes this season, the second-highest tally in the league, whereas GT’s 55 is tied for the lowest. There are, however, a few parallels in how the sides approach the early overs. RCB’s seamers lead the league in Powerplay wickets with 17, and GT are not far behind with 13. Kagiso Rabada has been a key factor in that early momentum, taking nine wickets, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar has seven for RCB. Both teams also use a wrist-spin and left-arm spin combination, giving an interesting symmetry to otherwise different bowling setups. Still, the outcome could ultimately depend on how deep RCB’s batting goes and how effectively GT can disrupt them across phases. RCB have already shown what their approach can look like recently: at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, they chased 205 with relative ease. “There is obviously a lot of talk about playing a different brand of cricket, but we are comfortable with our approach,” said Parthiv Patel. The main question now is whether that batting identity can withstand a more rounded RCB group.
When: GT vs RCB, Match 42, Thursday, April 30 at 7:30 PM IST
Where: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
What to expect: The surface should support batting, though it is unlikely to be overwhelmingly batter-friendly. A total in the 190–200 range may be enough to set up a closely contested game.
Head to head: RCB hold a 4–3 advantage over GT in their IPL meetings, including a win for RCB in the only previous game between the two sides at Ahmedabad. In each of the seven past head-to-head matches, the side chasing the target ended up winning.
Team watch:
Gujarat Titans
Injuries/Unavailabilities: Prasidh Krishna missed the previous fixture, with Arshad Khan coming into the XI. Arshad had a costly outing, but Prasidh is expected to return for the match against RCB.
Tactics & Matchups: Kagiso Rabada has dismissed Virat Kohli four times across 15 innings. Prasidh has also found Kohli three times in eight innings. On the other end, Rashid Khan has a strong record against Devdutt Padikkal, dismissing him four times in seven innings.
Probable XII: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Manav Suthar, Prasidh Krishna
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Injuries/Unavailabilities: There is still uncertainty around Phil Salt, who missed the last two matches because of an injury. Jacob Bethell may be in line for another appearance if his England teammate is fit enough to recover.
Tactics and Matchups: Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s record gives him a favourable edge against Jos Buttler and Shubman Gill, having dismissed Buttler eight times and Gill four times. Gill has also been dismissed twice by Josh Hazlewood in six innings, and Hazlewood has accounted for Sai Sudharsan twice as well. With RCB’s new-ball bowlers up against GT’s top three, the early battle promises to be a compelling one.
Probable XII: Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Suyash Sharma
Did you know?
– Virat Kohli has scored 432 runs in seven innings against GT, including one century and four fifties, with an average of 86.40 and a strike rate of 149.48.
– Up to the end of IPL 2024, Devdutt Padikkal had a strike rate of 123.14 versus pace. Since the start of IPL 2025 up to date, his strike rate against pace stands at 168.62.
What they said: “As far as preparation is concerned, I can definitely tell you that we make sure that they are well prepared. We have those facilities here where we can do our open nets and stuff like we had that session yesterday with our lower middle order or our middle order. So we try and give them as much (time) as possible. We have full faith in them and we are making sure that they are ready for the important games and hopefully if the situation comes around, they should be able to deliver.” — Parthiv Patel, GT assistant coach, on the middle order.
“Obviously things came together so quickly and so well that the game was over in the blink of an eye. So it was great to watch those two great bowlers bowl, Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood, and then obviously we had an easy small chase so the game was over quite quickly. And I think, to be honest, you’ve got to treat the wins and losses with a fair degree of equanimity because with losses you don’t want to get too down and the same principles apply to wins. So I don’t think it’s a huge challenge, to be honest.” — Andy Flower, RCB head coach, on the game against DC.
