Mohit Sharma and Shubman Gill starred for the Titans as we picked up our third win of TATA IPL 2023 in Mohali.
It went down the wire, it got nervy, but once again, our ice-man Rahul Tewatia, just the way he did it last season against the same team, produced a remarkable finish. Our Titans were on top of their game across all departments, emerging victorious in what turned out to be a tricky contest in Mohali.
Earlier in the first innings, Mohammad Shami once again struck lightning with an early blow for us, dismissing Prabhsimran Singh for a duck off the second ball of the innings. Joshua Little then got the big breakthrough, who got the in-form Shikhar Dhawan walking back.
Rashid Khan castled Matthew Short with a brilliant googly, who was looking good until then but totally misjudged the turn. Jitesh Sharma and Bhanuka Rajapaksa got a little partnership going, but Mohit Sharma, making his GT debut on the very day he made his TATA IPL debut in 2013, broke the partnership.
He also dismissed Sam Curran to derail the Kings off their track shortly after Alzarri Joseph sent Rajapaksa back. Shahrukh Khan hit some boundaries in the end to get their score past the 150-mark, but it took nothing away from a clinical effort from our bowlers.
Four of our five bowlers conceded at an economy less than eight, while Mohit Sharma marked his comeback to the tournament with a splendid 2/18 in four overs.
Chasing a target of 154, Wriddhiman Saha got us off to a brilliant start. He took on Arshdeep Singh and smashed four boundaries in the third over, which included a few exquisite shots. He was backed by a few quintessential Shubman Gill strokes that raced to the boundary. Saha also completed 2,500 runs in TATA IPL and finished with 30 runs off 19 deliveries.
This start from our openers kept the required rate in check right from the outset and Sai Sudharsan kept the scorecard ticking, picking the odd boundary. They added 41 runs together as we headed closer to the target.
Although a couple of quick wickets made it nervy for a while, Gill brought up his half-century and took off with some stellar shots. He slapped a forehand down the ground and beautifully flicked it over square leg to hit our first six off the innings.
Sam Curran nearly pulled off a heist for the Kings, with seven runs needed to defend. He got it down to four needed in two balls, but Tewatia scooped him nonchalantly over fine leg to take us over the line.
With three wins in four matches, we take the third spot and it sets up nicely for Sunday’s clash against table-toppers Rajasthan Royals.
Brief Scores:
Punjab Kings 153/8 in 20 overs (Matthew Short 36, Mohit Sharma 2/18) lost to Gujarat Titans 154/4 in 19.5 overs (Shubman Gill 67, Wriddhiman Saha 30)
Player of the Match: Mohit Sharma
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