Table toppers Gujarat Titans registered their eighth win from eleven matches to extend their lead at the top as they beat Lucknow Super Giants in Match 51 of TATA IPL 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
A fascinating opening act which saw Wriddhiman Saha smash a scintillating 81(43) and Shubman Gill hit an effortless 94*(51) powered the home side to a gigantic total of 227/2. Mohit Sharma then led the way with the ball with a fantastic spell of 4-0-29-4 as a collective bowling effort saw GT survive Kyle Mayers (48 off 32), Quinton de Kock (71 off 42) blitzes to win the match by 56 runs.
It was a proud and emotional day for the Pandya household as Krunal and Hardik Pandya became the first pair of brothers to lead their respective teams in the IPL.
Chasing 228, Kyle Mayers was off the blocks early as he cracked three consecutive fours off Hardik Pandya in the second over after Mohd. Shami had bowled an impressive first over, giving just 4 runs. De Kock joined the party, hitting a couple of fours off Shami in the third over before Mayers hammered one over mid-wicket for a six and crunched the last ball through covers for a four to make it 19 off the over.
An eventful over followed as De Kock hit a couple of fours to start the Hardik over but Rashid Khan dropped Mayers at point three balls later. Mayers ended the over with a four to bring up the 50 in the 4th over. The pair took the attack to the spinners – Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad – and accumulated 22 runs off two overs to take the score to 72/0 at the end of the Powerplay.
It took a moment of brilliance to break the 88-run opening partnership as Rashid Khan pulled off a magnificent running catch, where he ran 26m to pull off a diving catch, to dismiss Kyle Mayers 48(32), off Mohit Sharma. De Kock released some pressure as he whipped a flat six over deep square leg off Hardik to take LSG to 102/1 at the halfway mark.
Mohit and Rashid slowed things down as De Kock brought up his fifty off 31 balls. Hardik then brought back Shami and he struck immediately, having Deepak Hooda (11 off 11) caught at deep mid-wicket. De Kock finally broke the boundary drought, which lasted for over four overs, in the 15th over as he smacked one over long off, off Mohit. The GT pacer though bounced back to remove Stoinis (4 off 9) in the same over as he had him caught at short third man off a slower one. With the required run rate climbing over 21, De Kock looked to up the ante but departed in doing so as he missed his swing across the line and was cleaned up by Rashid Khan. Noor Ahmed then had Nicholas Pooran caught at short third man as things kept going further away for LSG. Ayush Badoni hit some crucial runs (21 off 11) which would help their net run rate a bit but overall, they fell well short of their target, finishing on 171/7. Mohit Sharma removed Badoni and Krunal Pandya off consecutive balls to finish with superb figures of 4-0-29-4.
Earlier, Lucknow Super Giants captain Krunal Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl. They made five changes to the starting eleven as Quinton de Kock, Deepak Hooda, Swapnil Singh, Avesh Khan and Yash Thakur replaced Naveen-ul-Haq, Manan Vohra, Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma and K Gowtham. The away side named Ayush Badoni, Daniel Sams, Amit Mishra, Prerak Mankad and Yudhvir Singh Charak as their substitutes.
Gujarat Titans made one change to the starting eleven as Shubman Gill replaced Josh Little (Left for National duties). Alzarri Joseph, Dasun Shanaka, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi and Jayant Yadav made it to the home side’s substitutes list.
GT opener Wriddhiman Saha got his team off to a flier as he went on the attack early to rattle the LSG bowlers. He started a bit tentatively with an edged four to third man off Mohsin Khan but he hit a beautiful extra cover drive off the next ball to make it 12 runs from the first over. The GT wicket-keeper batter opened the maximum account by pulling one over fine leg off Avesh Khan in the next over. He then charged down the track to pull one behind backward square leg for a four to make it 11 off the over. Krunal Pandya brought himself on to bowl early in the third over and bowled a decent over, conceding just one four, as Saha lofted one over extra cover. Saha again picked up the pace in the next over, smacking a four over deep square leg and then whipping one behind square leg for a four off Mohsin. He lofted the next one over extra cover for an effortless six and then pulled another one through mid-wicket for a four to make it 22 off the over and bring up GT’s fifty in just the fourth over.
Gill then opened his boundary account as he lofted one over long over where Deepak Hooda put in a splendid effort but couldn’t throw the ball back inside. Saha got to his fifty in style, his fastest in the IPL, off 20 balls, as he charged down the track and smacked the first ball from Yash Thakur over long on for a six. Gill ended the Powerplay in style, thumping the last ball of the sixth over deep backward square leg for a massive six to take GT to 78/0 at the end of the Powerplay, their highest Powerplay total in the IPL. After a quiet over from Ravi Bishnoi, Saha made sure the momentum was maintained as he hit 3 fours off Kyle Mayers to make it 16 off the over. Gill brought up the 100 for GT with a beautiful loft over extra cover for a six off Bishnoi and he unfurled another one straight down the ground for the second six of the over to make it 17 off the over.
GT reached 121/0 at the halfway stage. Gill reached his fifty, fourth of IPL 2023, off just 29 balls. Avesh Khan came back and finally broke the 142-run opening partnership as he had Saha (81 off 43) brilliantly caught at deep square leg.
Gill and captain Hardik Pandya carried forward the momentum and hit 20 runs off Marcus Stoinis’ first over. Mohsin finally broke the 42-run stand (off 23 balls) as he had Hardik caught at extra cover where brother Krunal took a fantastic reflex catch as it was hit with immense power. Gill and David Miller then provided the final flourish as they added an unbeaten 43 off 24 balls to power GT to 227/2. Shubman Gill remained unbeaten on 94 off 51 while David Miller remained not out on 21 off 12.
GT brought in Alzarri Joseph as their Impact Player, in place of Shubman Gill, at the start of their bowling innings.
