Our Titans fought till the very end, but it wasn’t enough as we went down to Punjab Kings in our opening match of the TATA IPL 2026 season in New Chandigarh on Tuesday, March 31.

Put in to bat, our captain Shubman Gill led from the front with a 27-ball 39, along with crucial contributions from Jos Buttler (38), Glenn Phillips (25) and Washington Sundar (18) to power us to 162/6 in our 20 overs. 

Later, our speedster Prasidh Krishna produced a brilliant spell of 3/29, which kept us in the hunt, before the Kings chased down the target in 19.1 overs. 

Here’s how the game panned out at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur:

Sai-Shub dazzled in Powerplay

Our stylish opening duo of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan got us off to a brilliant start. Sai Su flicked Arshdeep Singh for the first boundary of the night in the opening over. 

Captain Gill joined the party as he slammed Xavier Bartlett for three scintillating boundaries in the following over.

Sai-Shub continued their attacking approach as they added quick-fire 37 runs before  Sudharsan fell for 13 in the fourth over. 

Batting at No.3, our flamboyant wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler got off the mark with an exquisite boundary. Buttler and Gill hit a couple of more boundaries as we reached 54/1 in the first six overs. 

Buttler, Phillips continued the onslaught

Buttler looked in ominous touch as he clobbered Vijaykumar Vyshak straight back over the sightscreen for his first maximum of the season in the seventh over. 

At the other end, skipper Gill’s superb knock later came to an end as he departed for a well-made 39. 

Following Gill’s dismissal, our debutant Glenn Phillips joined Buttler at the crease. The dynamic Kiwi took little time to settle as he pumped Yuzvendra Chahal for a huge six and followed it up with another boundary to bring up our Titans’ century in just 11.5 overs. 

Buttler continued his swashbuckling knock as he hammered Bartlett for his second maximum in the 13th over. However, we suffered a setback as Phillips was dismissed for 25 in the next over.

Washi powered us to 162

Our experienced all-rounder Washington Sundar soon smashed Arshdeep Singh for a four to put the pressure back on the PBKS bowlers. 

Looking to up the ante, we later succumbed to a huge blow as in-form Buttler fell for a 33-ball 38 in the 16th over. 

In the final few overs, Washi and Rahul Tewatia played vital cameos to help us post 162/6 in our allotted 20 overs. 

KG struck early

Defending 162, our star pacer Kagiso Rabada got us off to a great start as he removed PBKS’ opening batter Priyansh Arya on the third ball of the second over.

After losing an early wicket, Prabhsimran Singh and Cooper Connolly stitched a crucial partnership for the hosts to resurrect their innings. 

Titans staged brilliant fightback

Later, in the 10th over, our spin wizard Rashid Khan provided us with a much-needed breakthrough as he claimed the huge wicket of PBKS wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran to end a 76-run stand with Connolly. 

Prasidh ‘Skiddy’ Krishna soon joined the party as he got rid of PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer, while Washi then dismissed Nehal Wadhera to reduce PBKS to 113/4 in the 14th over. 

In the following over, Prasidh brought us right back into the game as he removed Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis.

Challenging start to our campaign

On his TATA IPL debut, our young fast bowler Ashok Sharma later brought us more joy as he dismissed Marco Jansen in the 18th over, which kept us in the hunt till the end. 

However, despite best efforts from our bowlers in the final few overs, Xavier Bartlett (11 not out) and Connolly (72 not out) forged a vital partnership to guide the Kings over the line. 

What next for the Titans?

After a hard-fought encounter, our Titans will aim to quickly bounce back against Rajasthan Royals at our Gujarat no Gadh, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, April 4. 

Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans 162/6 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 39, Jos Buttler 38; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/34) lost to Punjab Kings 165/7 in 19.1 overs (Cooper Connolly 72*, Prabhsimran Singh 37; Prasidh Krishna 3/29) by 3 wickets.