Shubman Gill, who scored an impressive 67 off 49 balls to lead the reigning champions to their third victory of the year, seemed well at home in Mohali. Gill held tall in the face of challenging batting conditions to lead his team inching closer to the finish line at the location where he has played cricket since he was a child and recorded his greatest IPL score. Sam Curran gave it his all in the last over, but PBKS couldn’t hold on to a modest score of 153 for 8.
Were Sam Curran’s efforts the best? How so?
Despite the fact that the going was a little difficult for scoring runs, Gujarat Titans maintained complete control of the chase up until the last over, when Arshdeep Singh came back and allowed just six runs. In the final over, Sam Curran was left to defend seven with Gill and David Miller in the middle. On the second ball, Curran, though, outplayed the half-centurion, giving PBKS hope for a desperate robbery. When there were just 4 runs to be scored off of 2 balls, Miller, who had a difficult time centering the ball during his 18-ball stint, gave Rahul Tewatia the strike. The mini-conversation Curran had with Shikhar Dhawan and Arshdeep didn’t have the desired effect because Tewatia stepped across and lashed a shot over short fine leg to end the chase.
Returning to the opening frames…
PBKS’s stuttering opening
A wicket of Prabhsimran Singh in the first over and that of the current orange cap holder Shikhar Dhawan derailed Punjab Kings’ attempt to swing their bats around from the get-go. The PBKS skipper attempted to hit over mid-on but flubbed his chip off Joshua Little, allowing Alzarri Joseph to catch him for a run-a-ball eight, his first score below ten this year. PBKS were encouraged by Matthew Short’s incisive strokeplay despite Dhawan’s early dismissal as he sliced and drove his way to 35 off 22 in the opening six overs.
Rashid Khan begins the demise of PBKS
Short appeared to be in charge when facing the GT quicks, but he was thoroughly bowled for 36 from 24 balls after failing to read Rashid’s first googly. When Jitesh Sharma pulled and paddled against the spinner to earn three fours, he was better able to understand Rashid’s variations. But during the middle overs, he and Bhanuka Rajapaksa struggled with the pacers Mohit Sharma and Alzarri Joseph. Only 5.22 runs were scored by PBKS between overs 7 and 15. Jitesh only managed 25 off 23 balls despite hitting five fours, and Rajapaksa struggled the entire time before Alzarri Joseph finally got rid of him for 20 off 26 balls. Mohit made a significant comeback in his first IPL appearance since 2019, concluding with a stint of 2 for 13 in 4 overs that included the dismissals of Jitesh and Sam Curran, who was run out for a run-a-ball 22.
A late lift provided by a cameo by Shahrukh
Rajapaksa’s departure unintentionally gave PBKS’ essay new life when Shahrukh Khan came out and smacked a 147 kph delivery from Joseph for a six-over deep square leg. Khan also helped the team surpass the 150-run threshold with a cameo of 22 runs in just 9 balls.
A quick start in the pursuit with Saha and Gill
By driving the third ball from Arshdeep in the opening over through covers for the first of his 7 boundaries in the chase, Shubman Gill got the chase off to a flawless start. In the second over, Wriddhiman Saha made a brave start as well by treating Kagiso Rabada the same way. After hitting four fours in Arshdeep’s second over, the wicketkeeper-batter continued his early hot streak with a short ball from Rabada. Saha attempted to draw but ultimately had to clear the larger square boundary, failing, and hitting straight to Short at the deep square leg. Rabada took that wicket to reach 100 IPL kills in 64 innings, breaking his previous record.
GT’s muddled thinking
Similar to PBKS, GT experienced a decline in scoring under difficult circumstances and large square bounds. GT stumbled to 111/3 in 15 overs from 80/1 after 10 overs as Curran and Arshdeep once more applied pressure to keep PBKS in the match.
Gill puts the pursuit back on course
After the game had been back and forth, Gill gave GT the advantage in a three-over span when he lofted Rahul Chahar over cover to reach his fifty, blasted Curran to short leg, and then played a beautiful pull shot off Rabada for a six in a 12-run 18th over. This greatly favored Gill and GT throughout the match, which they won, in the end, thanks to Arshdeep and Curran.
What will the teams do next?
Prior to their Saturday night match against LSG in Lucknow, Punjab Kings only got one day of rest. On Sunday, Gujarat Titans will play Rajasthan Royals at home.
