April 02, 2025 – Bengaluru: In a thrilling IPL 2025 encounter at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Gujarat Titans (GT) dominated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by registering an eight-wicket win. But it was Mohammed Siraj’s performance that took the spotlight and left the home crowd stunned and the internet buzzing.
Siraj’s fiery return to Chinnaswamy
Mohammad Siraj, playing against his former team RCB for the first time since joining GT in the IPL 2025 auction, showed a masterclass in pace bowling. The 31-year-old pacer, who wore the red jersey for seven years, returned to his old ground with a point to prove and he did so with force. Finishing with figures of 3/19 in four overs, Siraj demolished RCB’s top order, taking key wickets of Phil Salt (14), Devdutt Padikkal (4) and Liam Livingstone (54).
Siraj’s spell was a blend of raw pace and accuracy, as he bowled 14 dot balls at speeds in excess of 140 kmph. His early successes reduced RCB to 42/4 after 6.2 overs, setting the tone for GT’s dominance. Reflecting on his performance, Siraj credited his break from international cricket for helping him hone his skills.
“I was playing matches continuously, so I didn’t realise my mistakes. During the break, I focused on my bowling and fitness,” he said in the post-match presentation, where he was adjudged the player of the match. Under the guidance of GT coach Ashish Nehra, Siraj has rediscovered his rhythm, and his celebration of his idol Cristiano Ronaldo added a personal touch to his triumphant return.
The internet erupted with reactions, with GT’s official X handle posting “Stumps to Siraj – Mujhe kyu toda? (Why did you break me?)” after he bowled a salt bowl, encapsulating the pacer’s emotional yet ruthless performance against his former team.
Buttler’s performance with the bat
While Siraj set the stage, Jos Buttler stole the show with a match-winning unbeaten 73 off 39 balls. The GT wicketkeeper-batsman had a shaky start behind the stumps, dropping a simple catch to Phil Salt off Siraj in the first over and then missing a stumping opportunity to Livingstone later. Admitting his embarrassment, Buttler drew parallels to Herschelle Gibbs’ infamous dropped catch in the 1999 World Cup. “I barely got the glove on it it hit me in the chest. I was trying to celebrate early like Gibbs, but because of that embarrassment, I decided to score some runs,” he said after the match.
And he scored. Moving up to No. 3 after Shubman Gill’s early dismissal, Buttler put on a show of five fours and six sixes, finishing the chase with three sixes off Josh Hazlewood in the 18th over. His knocks at a strike rate of 187.18 included a 75-run partnership with Sai Sudarshan (49) and an unbeaten 63 with Sherfane Rutherford (30*), taking GT to 170/2 with 13 balls to spare in just 17.5 overs.
Buttler’s love affair with RCB continued, as he has now scored 585 runs at an average of 53.18 in 16 IPL matches against them, including five fifties. “I tried to play with freedom and purpose. After a few months of uninspired cricket, I’m excited to be here with a new team,” said Buttler, who was signed by GT for INR 15.75 crore and is already the third-highest run-scorer in IPL 2025 with 166 runs.
Match Recap: GT’s All-Round Brilliance
Match Update GT skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bowl, a decision that was vindicated by their fast and heavy attack. Along with Siraj, Prasad Krishna (1/26), Ishant Sharma (1/27), and Arshad Khan (1/17) rattled RCB early on, while Sai Kishore’s 2/22 in the middle overs kept the pressure on. Despite Livingstone’s fighting 54 and late cameos from Jitesh Sharma (33) and Tim David (32), RCB could only manage 169/8, which Gill felt was “a great effort to restrict” on the batting-friendly Chinnaswamy pitch.
RCB captain Rajat Patidar lamented the early collapse and admitted, “Losing three wickets in the powerplay was one too many.” While he praised the efforts of Livingstone, Sharma and David, the disciplined bowling of Siraj and GT proved to be more than enough to undo the damage.
