Mohit Sharma, the seasoned bowler of Gujarat Titans, proved to be the game-changer with his two crucial wickets in the middle overs, leading his team to a convincing seven-wicket victory over Punjab Kings. The defending champions bounced back strongly after their previous loss to Kolkata Knight Riders, with a strong performance in both batting and bowling.
Gujarat Titans displayed their depth in bowling and batting, overpowering Punjab Kings in every aspect of the game. The Titans suffocated the Kings’ batsmen with a tight line and length, restricting them to a modest 153 for eight, and then chased down the target in the final over of the match.
The heroes of the match were Mohit Sharma and Rashid Khan, who both displayed excellent bowling performances. Mohit Sharma played his first IPL match in three years and bowled brilliantly, taking 2 wickets for just 18 runs. Meanwhile, Rashid Khan bowled an economical spell of 1 wicket for 26 runs.
Shubman Gill was the hero of the chase, anchoring the innings with his composed knock of 67 off 49 balls, including 7 fours and 1 six. The Gujarat Titans’ victory was the result of the following five factors:
Firstly, the Gujarat Titans’ bowlers delivered a high-class performance, not allowing Punjab Kings’ batsmen to free their arms. Mohammed Shami, the pace bowler, led the attack and made an early breakthrough by removing Prabhsimran Singh in the second ball of the match. Losing two wickets, including Shikhar Dhawan, the tournament’s top scorer, for 28 in the fourth over, was disastrous for Punjab Kings.
Secondly, Matthew Short, an uncapped Australian batsman, gave the Kings a chance to rebuild the innings with his knock of 36 off 24 balls. However, he fell to a beautifully disguised wrong’un from Rashid Khan, failing to convert his start. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, one of the heroes of Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup triumph, also struggled to find the ropes, scoring just 20 off 26 balls.
Thirdly, Punjab Kings’ innings was dotted with 55 dot balls, showing a clear lack of ideas from the home team. The likes of Jitesh Sharma and Sam Curran tried their best to shift gears, but the disciplined Gujarat attack always had things under control. If not for Shahrukh Khan’s 9-ball 22, Punjab would have fallen short of the 150-mark for the second straight time in the tournament.
Fourthly, the return of skipper Hardik Pandya, who missed the previous game against Kolkata Knight Riders, proved to be a calming influence on the Gujarat Titans. Pandya marshalled his bowlers brilliantly, getting Mohit Sharma into the playing eleven, who took two crucial wickets.
Finally, Chasing a modest target, Gujarat was never threatened by Punjab, with Shubman Gill playing a composed knock. Punjab had some good bowlers in their attack, but 153 was too modest a total to defend against a Gujarat batting unit that was beautifully anchored by Gill.
Red-hot attack
The par T20 score in Mohali is 168. But on Thursday night, the Gujarat Titans bowlers delivered such a high-class performance that the home team’s batting unite never looked capable of putting a good total on the board.
The pace attack, led by Mohammed Shami who made the early breakthrough by removing Prabhsimran Singh in the second ball of the match, was outstanding at the start, rarely allowing batters to free their arms.
Lack of intensity
Matthew Short (36 off 24 balls), an uncapped Australian batsman, gave the Kings a chance to rebuild the innings.
Short was harsh on anything short as the 27-year-old batsman looked set for a big score.
Dot balls
The sedate Punjab Kings innings was dotted with 55 dot balls, showing a clear lack of ideas from the home team. The likes of Jitesh Sharma (25 off 23 balls) and Sam Curran (22 off 22 balls) tried to their best shift gears, but the disciplined Gujarat attack always had things under control.
If not for Shahrukh Khan’s 9-ball 22, Punjab would have fallen short of the 150-mark for the second straight time in the tournament.
In conclusion, the Gujarat Titans displayed a dominant performance, proving to be too strong for Punjab Kings in every aspect of the game. Mohit Sharma’s excellent bowling performance and Shubman Gill’s composed knock were the highlights of the match. With this win, Gujarat Titans moved up to the top half of the IPL points table and sent a strong message to their opponents for the rest of the tournament.
