Gujarat Titans defeated Punjab Kings by four wickets in the final over of their IPL encounter in Ahmedabad on Sunday thanks to Sai Sudharsan’s composed 57 and excellent bowling by pacers Mohammed Siraj, Jason Holder, and Kagiso Rabada.
The Titans required a cool-headed chase of 164 on a somewhat sluggish surface, which Sudharsan achieved with his 41-ball knock.
Despite being reduced to 47/5 in 8.4 overs by Siraj (2/28) and Holder (4/24), PBKS managed to post 163/9 thanks to a similar innings from rookie Suryansh Shedge’s spirited 57.
However, Sudharsan had the opportunity to stand on the podium for the champions of the night’s battle of half-centurions. As a result, PBKS continued to hold the top spot with 13 points for the time being, while GT remained at number five in the standings although their point total increased to 12.
Sudharsan took charge of the chase and, with Jos Buttler, scored 53 runs for the second wicket after captain Shubman Gill was dismissed early by Arshdeep Singh.
Buttler (25) was the more dominant partner, dismissing both Xavier Bartlett and Marco Jansen for sixes, the latter of which was a bold scoop over the wicketkeeper.
However, the England batsman failed to clear the infield off Vyshak Vijayakumar, with Shreyas Iyer taking catch. However, Sudharsan persisted and hit his third fifty from 37 balls this IPL season.
The left-hander celebrated that with a pair of fours off Yuzvendra Chahal, but he was caught on the ropes by Bartlett after failing to add distance to a pull off Vysakh. With GT needing 11 runs off the last over, Rahul Tewatia’s dismissal added even more drama to the close match.
However, Washington Sundar (40 not out, 23b) persisted long enough to hit Marcus Stoinis for a scooped six to end the game.
Earlier, Gujarat Titans restricted Punjab Kings to 163/9 thanks to pacers Mohammed Siraj, Jason Holder, and Kagiso Rabada, despite Suryansh Shedge’s exceptional 57.
However, after Punjab was reduced to 47/5 in 8.4 overs by Siraj (2/28) and Holder (4/24), even that total appeared far off.
But Shedge’s 29-ball innings, which was crucial in a 79-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Marcus Stoinis (40), helped Punjab somewhat recover from that vulnerable position. Shedge used his experience playing for Mumbai in domestic cricket to help Punjab.
The right-hander acknowledged the superiority of GT bowlers on this surface and the lines they bowled and never tried to force the shots. However, he didn’t hesitate to show off his strength when the chance arose, like in Manav Suthar’s 14th over. Shedge took 26 runs from that over by hitting him for 6, 6, 4, 4, 6, and he reached his fifty in just 24 balls.
However, PBKS lost their way once more as he edged Rabada (2/22) to Jos Buttler behind the stumps.
Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly were dismissed off consecutive balls in the opening over by Siraj, who has been superb throughout the tournament.
Connolly snicked one back to Buttler, while Arya sliced Siraj straight to GT rookie Nishant Sandhu in the deep. Rabada fired a rocket at 152 kmph, which Prabhsimran Singh was unable to stop and scooped to Suthar inside the circle.
From there, Holder took charge and gave marching orders to PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer and Nehal Wadhera, two prime instances of his stifling line.
As PBKS collapsed into total chaos, Wadhera edged one to stumper Buttler. Shreyas did not have enough room to direct it to third man and sliced Holder back onto his stumps.
To get them above the 160-run threshold, Marco Jansen delivered a few powerful knocks off Rashid Khan in the last over.
