Gill caressed the ball to the boundary to a 29-ball half-century.
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Gujarat Titans celebrate the win during T20 cricket match 16 of the Indian Premier League 2022 (IPL season 15) between the Punjab Kings and the Gujarat Titans, at the Brabourne Stadium (CCI) in Mumbai, Friday, April 8, 2022. (Sportzpics for IPL/PTI Photo)
Rahul Tewatia won it for Gujarat Titans, hitting two sixes off the final two deliveries. Odean Smith lost it for Punjab Kings, not just by conceding those two sixes, but by overthrowing and giving away a single in the fourth ball of the final over.
With 13 runs to score for victory off three balls, David Miller played a shot back to the bowler. A dot ball would have made the equation unassailable for Gujarat. But Smith threw at the bowling end, missed the stumps and conceded a single. Tewatia became Gujarat’s hero by hitting back-to-back sixes under intense pressure, but it was silly cricket from the Punjab fast bowler. Chasing 190 for victory, Gujarat won by six wickets. Tewatia more than made up for his 24-run over.
At 133/2 in the 15th over, with eight wickets in hand and Hardik Pandya at the crease, Gujarat had it under control. Shubman Gill was moving like a Ferrari at the other end. But Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada brilliantly pulled things back in the death overs before Smith’s error threw it away. Gujarat’s win, however, rewarded Gill’s 59-ball 96. He didn’t deserve to finish on the losing side.
Gill’s artistry
The extra-cover drive off Liam Livingstone was the shot of the match. There was no violence. Gill caressed the ball to the boundary to a 29-ball half-century. His batting shuns violence and embraces artistry. On song, he is a joy to watch. Smith dropped him on 45, a regulation caught and bowled chance but the bowler couldn’t hold on in his follow through. Spectators didn’t mind the drop, for Gill’s batting felt like music with the lightness of touch.
Undoubtedly 😍
A game to remember indeed 👏👏#TATAIPL | #PBKSvGT | @ShubmanGill | @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/oF61X9OONO
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 8, 2022
Vaibhav Arora bowled short, Gill played it through covers for a four. The bowler bowled full and the batsman flicked it to the backward square leg boundary. Arshdeep pitched up, Gill responded with a push, so sweetly timed that it beat the fielder at mid-on and went to the fence. He read the spinners beautifully, ran like a hare between the wickets but missed out on his maiden IPL hundred. In the grand scheme of things, Gill’s good run of form is excellent news for Indian cricket.
Livingstone’s firepower
Come October, and Livingstone should be one of the first names on the England team sheet at the T20 World Cup. The 28-year-old has Kevin Pietersen’s panache and range. Pietersen learnt his cricket in Durban. Livingstone is made in Lancashire.
At the moment, Punjab are reaping the rewards of signing him up for Rs 11.5 crore, after an intense bidding war at the auction. Livingstone is showing that the bidding war for him was justified. The team he plays for, he becomes the x-factor.
FIFTY! 👍 👍@liaml4893 continues his impressive run of form in the #TATAIPL! 👏 👏
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/GJN6Rf8GKJ#TATAIPL | #PBKSvGT pic.twitter.com/gXMGc4gmP6
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 8, 2022
On 14, Livingstone was walking off the field, convinced that Pandya had taken his catch legitimately off Rashid Khan at the deep mid-wicket boundary. Replays showed that the fielder’s right foot had kissed the boundary rope. Both Livingstone and Rashid broke into a smile. Pandya looked to the sky.
The difference between Livingstone and his batting partners was stark during a Darshan Nalkande over. The young seamer dismissed the big-hitting Jitesh Sharma and Smith in consecutive deliveries. Both tried to clear the fence, but were holed out at long-on. Livingstone made short work of the debutant medium pacer. Before that, he had toyed with him in his previous over.
Pandya missed a trick by not bringing back Mohammed Shami or Lockie Ferguson for an over in the middle, when Livingstone was upping the ante. The Gujarat captain held back his two best bowlers for the back-end of the innings. By then, however, Livingstone was threatening to take the game away from the opposition.
Rashid eventually got him out by pulling his length back and forcing a mistimed pull. Still, Punjab should have gone past 200, riding on Livingstone’s 27-ball 64 that included seven fours and four sixes. But batting around him wasn’t up to the mark. Shahrukh Khan fell prey to Rashid, Rabada’s run-out was comical and save a 27-run last wicket partnership between Chahar and Singh, Punjab would have struggled to post a big total.
Sudharsan impresses
Sai Sudharsan made his IPL debut, replacing the injured Vijay Shankar and carrying his Tamil Nadu Premier League reputation. He was the standout performer in the TNPL last year, scoring 358 runs and this game saw a seamless progression.
Debut jitters! What's that? 🤔
Relive this sensational MAXIMUM from Sai Sudharsan 🎥 🔽 #TATAIPL | #PBKSvGT | @gujarat_titans https://t.co/HdIHfHVwsa
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 8, 2022
Coming from a sporting family – his father is a former India athlete, while his mother is an ex-state level volleyball player – Sudharsan didn’t look out of place at all. His job was to play second fiddle to Gill, which he did well, scoring 35 off 30 balls and adding 101 runs for the second wicket. The partnership played a significant part in Gujarat’s win.
Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 189 for 9 in 20 overs (Liam Livingstone 64, Shikhar Dhawan 35; Rashid Khan 3/22) lost to Gujarat Titans 190 for 4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 96, Sai Sudarsan 35; Kagiso Rabada 2/35).
