Gujarat Titans (GT) 12 to win from the last two balls of the match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) for their third win in as many matches in Indian Premier League 2022. Not for the first time did Rahul Tewatia hit a Punjab Kings fast bowler from West Indies – Odean Smith this time – for consecutive sixes. Before him, Shubman Gill made an elegant, career-best 96, while support came from debutant Sai Sudharsan and captain Hardik Pandya.
Pandya won the toss and – as has been the trend this season – decided to bowl. Gujarat made a couple of changes, bringing two IPL debutants Sai Sudharsan and Darshan Nalkande for Vijay Shankar and Varun Aaron. Punjab brought in Jonny Bairstow for Bhanuka Rajapaksa.
Punjab Kings 189/9 in 20 overs
Punjab captain Mayank Agarwal failed again, as did Bairstow, as Pandya and Lockie Ferguson picked up one wicket each inside the Powerplay. But Liam Livingstone started from where he left in the last match. He hit a four first ball, and continued to play his shots. One of his lofted shots was caught at the boundary, but the fielder touched the rope. He hit seven fours and four sixes in his 27-ball innings of 64, and made Punjab dream of 200.
However, Nalkande brought Gujarat back in the match. After being hit for 27 in his first two overs, he came back to pick up Jitesh Sharma and Smith off consecutive deliveries in his third over. Then Rashid Khan showed his magic, picking up Livingstone and Shahrukh Khan in his last over. Kagiso Rabada's run out left them at 156/8 in 16.2 overs, but a 27-run last-wicket stand between Rahul Chahar and Arshdeep Singh took them to 189/9.
Gujarat Titans 190/4 in 20 overs
The Gujarat Titans chase was built on Gill’s innings. Aggressive from the onset, Gill seems to have changed his approach significantly. He timed the ball beautifully, hit some eye-catching boundaries, rotated the strike well, and was unfortunate to miss out on a maiden IPL hundred by four runs.
After Matthew Wade fell early, Gill found company in Sai Sudharsan, a key member of the champion Tamil Nadu side. He impressed with his strokes, and helped Gill add 101 for the second wicket. After scoring 21 off the first 14 balls he faced, Sai Sudharsan got stuck, taking 16 balls for his next 14 runs. After his dismissal, Gill and Pandya added 37 in 4.1 overs before Gill hit a full toss from Rabada to Agarwal at cover.
At that stage, they still needed 20 runs in seven balls. David Miller joined Pandya, who tried to run a bye and was run out by wicketkeeper Bairstow. But Tewatia joined Miller – and sealed the match..
Brief scores
Punjab Kings 189/9 in 20 overs (Liam Livingstone 64; Rashid Khan 3-22) lost to Gujarat Titans 190/4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 96; Kagiso Rabada 2-35) by 6 wickets with 0 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Shubman Gill.