Nights like these make us stronger! That’s the lesson we will take away from our match against Punjab Kings, who eked out a three-wicket win in TATA IPL 2024 at the Home of Gujarat Titans on Thursday night.

Our captain, Shubman Gill, led by example with an unbeaten 89 – the highest individual score for the season – to help us post a daunting 199. Later, we kept the visitors from getting into a rhythm with wickets at regular intervals, but Shashank Singh's innings saw the Kings win in the penultimate ball of the match.

Captain Gill entertained the Titans FAM with some fine batting at the start and he carried on in the same vein through the innings. Put into bat, he made his intentions clear from the get-go when he tonked Harpreet Brar for a maximum in the opening over. 

 Though Wriddhiman Saha departed soon, Gill – with Kane Williamson – didn’t let the early wicket affect our momentum as we managed 52 in the Powerplay. Our captain anchored the innings well, while Sai Sudharsan continued to build on his early season exploits with some masterful stroke play after Williamson fell. 

With two wickets in the middle overs, Punjab Kings found a way back into the match, but our Titans shut the doors on their hopes with Gill upping the ante to bring up his first fifty of the season. Rahul Tewatia produced another flamboyant finish. Apado Haryana na hira began by despatching Harshal Patel’s low full toss for a six and then found the rope three more times for his quick-fire 28 off just eight balls.

With 200 to chase, the Punjab Kings were under the pump from the word go. Our Titans ensured that it stayed so for long. Jonny Bairstow had a go at our latest Afghan recruit, Azmatullah Omarzai, in the opening over. However, Shikhar Dhawan chopped a back-of-a-length delivery from Umesh Yadav onto his stumps in the next over.

Prabhsimran Singh was the next to test our bowlers. But even his cameo didn’t last long. After a few flashy shots, Noor Ahmad sent him packing right after the powerplay. 

But it was Shashank Singh's timely innings that took the game away from us. The 32-year-old played our bowlers on merit and was made to work hard for his runs. But despite our best efforts, it was one such day when lady luck preferred the visitors.

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