The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad witnessed yet another classic with hosts Gujarat Titans winning by 56 runs against Lucknow Super Giants. Openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill played the innings of their lives. On one end where Saha scored a vital 81, Gill was remarkable with the bat as he smashed seven sixes in his unbeaten innings of 94 runs.
Krunal Pandya won the toss for the Supergiants and opted to bowl first on a batting-friendly track. The decision proved to be wrong with Saha and Gill scoring heavily with the bat. They put 142 runs on the board for the first wicket before Saha got out off Avesh Khan. He heaved the back of the length delivery in the air but found the substitute Prerak Mankad at deep square leg where he grabbed an outstanding catch.
Gill, on the other hand, remained not out till the end helping his side go past the 200-run mark. Skipper Hardik Pandya and David Miller played quickfire knocks of 25 and 21 runs respectively to help their side reach 227 in the end. While Miller remained not out in the end, Hardik found Krunal Pandya at extra cover.
Lucknow’s bowling was terrible with no one impressed with their spell. Only Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan got a wicket each while the others proved to be expensive. Krunal used eight bowlers during their bowling which was a clear indication that he wasn’t getting the desired output.
Talking about the away side’s batting, the intent was clear from their openers as both Kyle Mayers and Quinton de Kock started off with a bang. They built a partnership of 88 runs for the first wicket before Mayers lost his wicket to Mohit Sharma as Rashid Khan’s outstanding catch to dismiss Mayers was the highlight of the innings.
De Kock was the lone warrior for the Supergiants as the other batters including Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, and Krunal Pandya failed to fire with the bat. De Kock scored 70 before falling off Rashid Khan in the 16th over. He smashed three maximums and seven boundaries in his vital innings.
The Titans’ bowling department impressed everyone with Mohit Sharma picking up four wickets. He sent back Mayers, Stoinis, Ayush Badoni, and skipper Pandya to the pavilion with his intelligent bowling. Noor Ahmed might have picked only one wicket in his innings but he was economical throughout his spell.
Mohit Sharma picked up four wickets against LSG on Sunday
Shubman Gill was awarded the Player of the Match trophy for his exceptional innings. After this victory, the Titans have maintained their top spot in the table with 8 wins out of 11 whereas Lucknow Super Giants are still at the third spot with 5 victories.
Gujarat Titans are almost through to the playoffs with their phenomenal display, however, the Supergiants would need victories in their upcoming matches if they need to qualify for the playoffs.
The Krunal Pandya-led side is set to play against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next battle on Saturday while the Titans would look to put Mumbai Indians in a tough position in their next match on Friday.