IPL Bulletin For April 3: GT End RCB’s Unbeaten Start as Siraj Haunts Former Side to Samson’s Captaincy Return

Indian Premier League (IPL) season 18 continued to see teams fail at their home ground as we approached the close of the second week. Only six of the fourteen matches so far in IPL 2025 has ended with home teams winning the match.

High-flying Royal Challengers Bengaluru were brought back down to earth after one of their former players returned to produce match-winning figures at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where a couple of batting performances helped Gujarat Titans ease past the target.

While RCB's first defeat of the season was in focus on the field, the build for the upcoming game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad - IPL 2024 Final rematch, continued before they face off at the iconic Eden Gardens.

Also, there was injury update for several players, including the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and Sanju Samson as BCCI Centre of Excellence cleared two players. Here is a look at the IPL Bulletin For April 3:

Gujarat Titans hand Royal Challengers Bengaluru reality check

Gujarat Titans ended Royal Challengers Bengaluru's unbeaten start to the IPL 2025 season and handed a reality check for the high-flying side at their home venue - the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

After Mohammed Siraj and R Sai Kishore helped restrict RCB to 169 in their allotted 20 overs, B Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler suppressed the home crowd noise by playing vital knocks to complete the chase for GT with 13 balls and 8 wickets to spare.

RCB had come into the match with a perfect record, having beaten Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings in their own backyards, but the Bengaluru-based side could not continue their winning streak on their return to home, where they have struggled for wins.

Mohammed Siraj returns to Bengaluru to haunt RCB

Siraj returned to haunt his former side Royal Challengers Bengaluru with a match-winning performance for Gujarat Titans. The Indian pacer snapped three wickets and conceded just 19 runs at an economy of 4.8 in his spell of four overs.

The speedster, who spent seven season at RCB, took the wickets of Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, and Liam Livingstone in his spell. He was awarded the Player of the Match for this brilliant performance.

Jos Buttler redeems himself for GT with unbeaten 73

After giving his compatriots Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone a reprieve behind the stumps, GT's England wicketkeeper-batter Buttler redeemed himself with the bat as he revealed that he was embarrassed by the missed opportunities.

First he put down Salt in the very first over bowled by Siraj then later missed a stumping of Livingstone off the bowling of Rashid Khan. Although Buttler wasn't at his very best with the gloves, he was at his best with the bat as he scored an unbeaten 73 off 39 balls with 5 fours and 6 sixes to ease GT past the target.

Mentor Dwayne Bravo backs KKR batters to fire

Ahead of the clash at home against Sunrisers Hyderabad, KKR team mentor Dwayne Bravo backed his team's batters to fire after a disappointing outing in Mumbai. He also expressed confidence in the team's ability, saying the many match-winners can win the game by themselves on their day.

SRH fielding coach expects another high-scoring contest at Eden Gardens

Although there has been much talk around the attacking brand of cricket causing their down-fall, Sunrisers Hyderabad's fielding coach Ryan Cook said the team will stick to the aggressive and positive style in the games going forward.

Cook, however, revealed that the team never discuss about going past the much-talked about 300-run mark, calling it only as expectation placed by others on them after their two 280 plus totals. The SRH field coach also believes the contest against KKR will be similar to last season's 200 plus game.

Jasprit Bumrah's Mumbai Indians comeback delayed

Bumrah was expected to be available for the Mumbai Indians in the first week of April, but recent reports suggest that the pacer's comeback may be delayed at least until the middle of the month as his injury is more serious than first imagined.

The 31-year-old, who has been out of action with a back issue which he picked up during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the turn of the year, has returned bowling, but is yet to bowl at full title as BCCI look to take cautious approach with his recovery.

Akash Deep joins LSG camp ahead of Mumbai Indians clash

Akash Deep has joined the Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) team and is expected to be ready for the match against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Friday (April 4). Akash missed action from December 2024 after he suffered a back injury during the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

The Bengal pacer is yet to make his debut for LSG and last participated in T20s during the 2024 IPL, when he played in one match for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against MI at the Wankhede Stadium. In total, he has appeared in eight matches for RCB since 2022 and has taken seven wickets.

Akash's arrival will enhance LSG's bowling lineup, which has been affected by injuries. Mayank Yadav's recovery from a lumbar stress injury was complicated by a toe injury, and Mohsin Khan has been ruled out of IPL 2025 due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) sustained last December.

Sanju Samson cleared to keep wickets, set for RR captaincy return

Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson has received clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to resume wicket-keeping duties after participating in the team's first three matches in IPL 2025 solely as a specialist batter.

Riyan Parag captained RR, while Dhruv Jurel kept wickets instead of Samson in these matches. The Rajasthan Royals announced that Sanju Samson would return as captain and wicketkeeper for their upcoming match against the Punjab Kings.