Gujarat Titans notch 6-wicket win over Punjab Kings in IPL
MOHALI, India (AP) — The Gujarat Titans recorded a six-wicket win over the Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League on Thursday.
Opener Shubman Gill played the winning hand with a half-century, scoring 67 off 49 balls, and guided Gujarat to 154-4 (19.5 overs) in reply to Punjab’s 153-8 (20 overs).
Sam Curran (1-25) led Punjab to a fine recovery and bowled Gill in the final over, with six runs needed off the last five deliveries. Rahul Tewatia kept calm to score a boundary at fine leg and take Gujarat past the finish line with one ball to spare.
The Titans entered the match still smarting from their stunning last-over loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Titans’ bowling posted a recovery after Rinku Singh’s work on Sunday for Kolkata. Led by seasoned Mohit Sharma, its pacers were able to restrict Punjab to a below-par score.
Mohammed Shami took 1-44, while Josh Little took 1-31 to headline an all-pace showing from Gujarat. Little dismissed in-form skipper Shikhar Dhawan for eight runs.
England’s Matthew Short resurrected the innings with 36 off 24 balls, including six fours and one six. He fell to spin, as Rashid Khan picked up 1-26 in four overs.
Punjab stuttered with a regular fall of wickets and never picked up any serious momentum.
Curran scored 22 off 22 balls, while Jitesh Sharma contributed 25 off 23 balls. Sharma (2-18) dismissed them both to have Punjab down to 136-6 at one stage.
Shahrukh Khan’s 22 off nine balls, with two sixes, helped Punjab across the 150-mark.
It wasn’t enough when faced with Gill’s classy strokes. The opener struck seven fours and a six to reach his half-century off 40 balls.
He added 48 off 28 balls with Wriddhiman Saha (30) for the opening wicket, and then another 41 off 40 balls with Sai Sudharsan (19) for the second wicket.
Gujarat was in cruise-mode despite losing Sudharsan at 89-2. But then, skipper Hardik Pandya fell to spin for eight runs to put the chase in some bother.
Gill anchored the innings and added 42 runs off 30 balls with David Miller, who was unbeaten on 17 runs.
Despite Curran’s last-over heroics, Gujarat pulled through to win its third game in four, rising to third in the table with six points. Its next game is against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.
Punjab is now sixth with two wins in four games, and travels to play Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday.
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