When Siraj and Sai silenced RCB

Siuu went Siraj. It had been an eventful over - the fifth of the first innings. He could have had Phil Salt run out all by himself but missed by a whisker. He then saw the ball being smashed out of the ground, forcing for it to be changed.

Siraj wasn't happy with the replacement ball that came in and the umpires had to coax the Gujarat Titans players to get going as they mulled around complaining. They had good reason to feel a little peeved for the ball that had gone out of the ground then had otherwise worked magically for the Titans in the PowerPlay, and particularly so for Siraj. He had seen one skid past Devdutt Padikkal, rapped Rajat Patidar on the pad and was increasingly finding his rhythm until that six and the ball change.

Although a little peeved, Siraj had his eyes on the ball with a full 144kph ball that beat Salt and sent the stumps clattering. Siuu went Siraj, and silenced the RCB crowd that had once cheered their hearts out for this very gimmick when he was donning their colours. He had given them enough reason to. Particularly in Powerplays on an unforgiving ground for bowlers, Siraj had held his own as the numbers below tell.

Siraj bowling in Overs 1-6 in IPL since 2023

At Chinnaswamy:14 matches, 12 wickets at 16.25, SR: 15.5, ER: 6.29

Other venues:17 matches, 7 wickets at 43.28, SR: 30, ER: 8.65

After being left out of their retentions, RCB had also chosen not to exercise a Right to Match card when Siraj was picked up for INR 12.25 crore by the Titans. And so Siraj admitted to being a little emotional on returning to play against the team he had been part of for seven seasons previously.

"I thought, you know, he bowled an outstanding spell there with the new ball. His lines were really tight, his lengths were good, and he threatened the stumps a lot. So good on him," said head coach Andy Flower with a wide smile after the game.

It could not be anything but bittersweet. For RCB, had done all their auction picks in a bid to get a bowling attack that could be well suited for the conditions. The dynamics of previous auctions had swung in such a way that they now couldn't hold on to two of the highest wicket-takers at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. So Flower was now left to just admiring it from the other side and wishing Siraj well even after the damage he had inflicted on his team inside the powerplay.

But with the batting depth that they had acquired, RCB were still able to 'scrap' their way through the middle overs until another spell short-circuited their plans.

4-0-22-2 is the kind of spell that most coaches would give an arm for from a spinner at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. On the same night where Rashid Khan had his second-most expensive spell-ever in the IPL, his inexperienced partner R Sai Kishore continued the dream run he's had in IPL 2025. Thanks to the damage done earlier by the pacers, Sai Kishore started bowling at a time when RCB's best spin-hitter in Rajat Patidar was already out of his way. But a 52-run stand between Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma was just starting to help RCB get back on track. Sai Kishore had already beaten the former in the air only to see a regulation catch being put down. But the smart left-arm spinner continued working on his angles and lengths, getting one to turn and another to dart through.

One such switch from around the wicket to over then paid immediate dividends as Jitesh, much like Livingstone earlier, was beaten in the air only for Rahul Tewatia to latch on this time. Sai Kishore would go on to defeat Krunal Pandya with a variation of the carrom ball that he unleashed for the first time in the IPL before bowling another tight over at the back-end against a rampaging Livingstone and Tim David.

Sai Sudharsan, his fellow Titans and Tamil Nadu teammate took it upon himself to put the spell into context. "I feel in this game, it [Sai Kishore's] was the most important spell because the wicket was very difficult against the fast bowlers. So, as batters, as any batters, even me, we would try and maximise the most out of from the spinners. So, I feel he was smart enough and used the right speeds in this wicket and right angles to Tim David and Liam Livingstone when he bowled there. I feel he used the speed really well in the angles and that's why I think he had a great game."

Sai Kishore, the Tamil Nadu captain, by most accounts has a reputation of being down-to-earth to a fault and as someone with varied interests off the field. Sudharsan adds that he is also the kind that thinks about the game and his craft extensively.

"I feel off the field, I can tell you the amount of effort he puts, the amount of preparation he does in terms of tactical advantages. I feel that is making him a bit ahead than other bowlers is what my feeling is because he understands the game, he understands the situation and uses his speeds, uses his angles. So, that is one of the most best strengths, I would say. And I think that is why he is bowling the way he is."

There wasn't going to be a Siuufrom the relatively measured Sai, but together they scored the Titans' trickiest goals of the night.