(Cricket news) Gujarat Titans got their third consecutive victory over the Punjab Kings in dramatic fashion as Rahul Tewatia hammered two sixes of the last two balls to lead his side to a very dramatic victory. Hardik Pandya won the toss and unsurprisingly chose to bowl first as they made two changes bringing in Sai Sudarshan and Darshan Nalkande in place of Vijay Shankar and the injured Varun Aaron. On the other hand, Mayank Agarwal handed Jonny Bairstow his PBKS debut in place of Bhanuka Rajapaksa.
In the first innings, England all-rounder Liam Livingstone, who was the costliest foreign player this season made full use of a lucky catch which Hardik Pandya caught but was unfortunately touching the boundary ropes, to smash a second consecutive half century and help Punjab Kings post 189/9. Livingston smashed 64 off just 27 balls to score the bulk of the runs for them as he shared 52 runs partnership for the third wicket with opener Shikhar Dhawan (35) to revive the Punjab innings after they were 43 for 2 after the powerplay. Rashid Khan had a field day against the Punjab batsmans as he picked up three wickets and conceded only 27 runs. Darshan Nalkande had a good IPL debut as he finished with figures of 2/37.
In reply, Gujarat Titans had a poor start as they lost Matthew Wade early on but Shubam Gill and debutant Sai Sudharsan shared a 101 partnership to stabilise the innings, Surdharsan made a nice 35 off 30 balls to support Gill who was smacking the ball all around the park and it looked like GT would chase the target quite easily. The decisive moment came in the match when Rahul Chahar got Sudharsan in the 15th over as the scoring rate was brought down and put the opposition under pressure. In the penultimate over the pressure showed as Shubam Gill just missed out on a terrific century by 4 runs. The Titans needed 19 off the last over and all hopes of a victory were dashed when Hardik Pandya was run out on the first ball by Bairstow, but in stepped Rahul Tewatia to hit two massive sixes to edge out a victory from the clutches of a defeat.
Pandya after the unlikely victory said: "The kind of ups and downs happen, I think I have now become used to it. It was a Kings' game; some sympathy for them losing this. Gill has been telling everybody that he is there. A lot of credit goes to Sai as well. Body is coping all right; I am getting tired obviously. As the games come, I'll be getting better."
Shubman Gill after his motm performance said, “It is important to keep the scoreboard ticking. It is important to hit those gaps because this outfield is rapid. It is just about execution. It was just one of those days where I was hitting the ball well and finding the gaps as well. I am hitting the ball hard, trust me. I am doing my level best to hit it hard, it might not look that way. As an opener, I have to bat through the innings, so that it is easier for the big-hitters to hit it in the end. Instead of not thinking in the nets, I try and work and reduce my dot balls as much as possible. Not sure about the celebrations now, it takes us one hour to reach the hotel”
Also read: CSK and SRH look for their first victory in match no 17
