For Rahul Tewatia, it was business as usual at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. The Haryana all-rounder is gradually moulding himself into one of the finest finishers in T20 cricket.

It is mainly because of his pyrotechnics that Gujarat Titans have reigned supreme in all close matches this season. Not without reason do the newcomers sit pretty at the top of the IPL table with eight wins from nine matches.

Tewatia and Rashid Khan had scripted a near-impossible triumph against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last match. On Saturday, Tewatia and David Miller hit nine fours and three sixes between them in their unbroken 79-run partnership off 40 balls to script another thrilling six-wicket win.

The 171-run chase was achieved with perfection as the pair never panicked. The first five balls of the 19th over produced only six runs but then Tewatia coolly sent Harshal Patel’s last ball over long off for a six. The equation suddenly dropped to seven from six balls.

Both Miller (39 not out off 24) and Tewatia (43 not out off 25) combined to achieve the runs in just three balls. The Titans needed 58 from the last five overs but the pair pulled it off nonchalantly.

Kohli’s form

Kohli’s return to form will always be a welcome relief for RCB but did the innings match his own exalted standards? It was his highest in this IPL and put an end to his terrible run which included two consecutive golden ducks. What RCB missed on Saturday was the urgency of a Miller or Tewatia.

Kohli looked hungry for runs and ran the singles hard. But the strike-rate was hardly inspiring and dropped to 109 during his 58 off 53 balls. He took time to settle down and reached his half-century off 45 deliveries.

Whatever Kohli does will be subject to intense scrutiny but he should have provided momentum to the innings. By the time he fell to a slow yorker from Mohammed Shami, RCB had only 3.2 overs left to capitalise on the start.