PBKS vs GT, IPL 2023 HIGHLIGHTS: Gujarat Win By 6 Wickets Against Punjab In Another Last-Over Finish
IPL 2023, Match 18, PBKS vs GT: Gujarat would have ideally wanted to finish the game bit early but eventually reached their target with a ball to spare.
GT WIN!!! It was all down to the last over but Rahul Tewatia kept his calm to score a boundary on the penultimate ball of the match to finish things off for his side.
Harpreet Brar gets the wicket of Hardik Pandya but GT still in control. GT- 106/3 in 14.2 overs.
Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill openers for GT and the two got the team off to a good start putting on 48 runs inside 5 overs before Kagiso Rabada dismissed Saha to claim his 100th IPL wicket. GT- 48/1 in 4.4 overs. B Sai Sudharsan walks in at number 3.
END OF INNINGS. PBKS end their innings at 153/8 in 20 overs. Matthew Short top-scored with 36 off 24 but the middle order really failed to get a move on with Bhanuka scoring at a strike rate of 76.92 during his 26-ball stay and Curran and Sharma too striking at 100 and 108.69. In end, a brief cameo from Shahrukh Khan (22 off 9) helped PBKS get past 150. 56 dot ball in that innings.
And Curran also goes, first ball of the 19th over. Mohit Sharma gets his second on IPL comeback with Curran getting caught in the deep, trying to clear the on-side fence.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa's struggled stay in the middle worth 20 off 26 comes to an end. However, Shahrukh Khan looks in good nick and along with Sam Curran are looking accelerate in the slog overs. PBKS- 136/5 in 18 overs.
WICKET! Mohit Sharma gets the breakthough and he has Saha to thank who convinced Hardik Pandya to go for the review. Jitesh Sharma had got a faint nick on that one. PBKS- 92/4 in 12.2 overs.
Punjab Kings- 75/3 at the halfway stage.
Jitesh and Bhanuka Rajapaksa out in the middle for PBKS during these crucial middle overs.
Short falls after powerplay and it is Rashid Khan who gets the set batter. He was playing on 36 off 24 balls with the help of 6 boundaries and a six but will have to depart after being beaten by Rashid all ends up and see his stumps getting disturbed. PBKS- 55/3
WICKET! Big wicket for GT as Dhawan departs. Little gets the big fish. The batter fails to clear the fielder who ran back to complete a fine catch. PBKS- 28/2.
Matthew Short, who replaced Singh, with a couple of boundaries in that over. After the end of Over 1, PBKS- 8/1. Joshua Little from the other end for GT.
WIKCET! A short stay at the wicket for Prabhsimran Singh. He had come to open along with Shikhar Dhawan but goes back for a 2-ball duck with Mohammed Shami striking in the first over. PBKS- 0/1.
Playing 11s:
PBKS: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Matthew Short, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rishi Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh
GT: Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (captain), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Joshua Little
Hardik Pandya wins the toss and Gujarat will bowl first.
Background
Many including the commentators on air would have thought that the Gujarat Titans have sealed the game against the Kolkata Knight Riders when the last over of KKR's chase started at the Narendra Modi Stadium on April 9 (Sunday).
With 29 needed of the final six balls, hardly anyone game Kolkata chance but GT ended up losing this match, thanks to Rinku Singh as he scored five sixes off the last five deliveries to finish off the game.
Gujarat's hearts would have been shattered but they would need to bounce back strong in this away game against the Punjab Kings. Both these teams have 2 wins from their 3 matches but a slight better net run rate of +0.431 means the defending champions are placed at the fourth place on the points tally compared to PBKS who have a net run rate of -0.281.
While Gujarat are coming on the back of a heart-wrenching loss in their last match they were without the services of their regular captain Hardik Pandya in that match and the good news is that Pandya is likely to be available for this match.
Much like GT, PBKS had also lost their last game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad with their skipper Shikhar Dhawan pretty much playing a lone hand, scoring 99 runs off 66 balls. Overall though the team only managed 143/9 which the opposition chased down comfortably in the end.
PBKS will also be boosted with with the availability of Kagiso Rabada and Liam Livingstone and could be temped to rope in both in the Starting 11. However, with the Impact Player rule, they can also play with the combination.
Probable Starting XIs:
PBKS: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, M Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
GT: Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (captain), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami, R Sai Kishore
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