Gujarat Titans scripted a six-wicket win over Punjab Kings to go third in the IPL 2023 points table on Thursday.
While GT, who won the toss and opted to field, restricted the Kings to 153/8 from 20 overs, it was far from being a walk in the park during the chase.
Regular wickets kept hurting GT but Shubman Gill (67) and Rahul Tewatia ensured they cross the finish line without much fuss.
Here are some top moments from the PBKS vs GT match:
Matt Short creates huge impact
Ausralia’s Matt Short would not have expected to walk into bat in the very first over, but he did so on Thursday against Gujarat Titans.
Mohammed Shami had struck in the very first over of the contest, removing Prabhsimran Singh in the second ball, and task was then cut out for Short who came into bat at number three.
ICYMI!
Nothing short about that MAXIMUM from Short! #TATAIPL | #PBKSvGT | @PunjabKingsIPL
Relive Matthew Short's powerful SIX https://t.co/S6DONkWctB
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 13, 2023
Short began on a promising note, hitting Shami for a couple of fours in his first over, and continued to find boundaries at regular intervals.
Short slammed six fours, and pulled one towards deep midwicket fence for a six while facing Alzarri Joseph.
However, Short’s innings came to an end in the seventh over when he was cleaned up by Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan.
Mohit Sharma impresses on IPL return
Pacer Mohit Sharma had last played an IPL match in 2020, and while he spent time with Gujarat Titans as a net bowler in 2022, it was only on Thursday when he made his debut for GT.
Mohit Sharma, playing his first IPL match since 2020, making his debut for Gujarat, went for just 18 runs from 4 overs by taking 2 wickets.
Welcome back, Mohit. pic.twitter.com/ebfOyfKH6A
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 13, 2023
And boy did he impress! Mohit Sharma finished with economical figures of 2/18 from four overs, picking up the wickets of Jitesh Sharma and Sam Curran.
Kagiso Rabada strikes on return
Kagiso Rabada was only playing his first match of the season against GT on Thursday. He had missed the Punjab Kings’ initial few matches due to national commitments, but returned on Thursday and picked up a wicket.
Rabada picked up the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha, who was caught by Matt Short at deep backward square leg, and it was no ordinary wicket for the South African, but his 100th IPL wicket.
Rabada took just 64 matches to get to 100 IPL wickets, the player with the least number of matches to have done so. The previous quickest to 100 IPL wickets was Lasith Malinga, who had taken 70 matches to the milestone.
Shubman Gill sets the platform
Shubman Gill got to his second fifty in IPL 2023, continuing his rich run of form with the bat for GT.
Gill had amassed 63 against Chennai Super Kings in the season-opener, and while he also went onto score 39 against Kolkata Knight Riders, Thursday was meant to be a different challenge altogether.
Mohali is always special ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/5Q2kJXMBYG
— Shubman Gill (@ShubmanGill) April 13, 2023
Gill had taken his time and got to his fifty in 40 deliveries, scoring six fours in the process.
Despite wickets falling at the other end, Gill stood firm, building 40-plus stands with each of Wriddhiman Saha, Sai Sudharsan and David Miller.
Rahul Tewatia saves the day…again
He’s been there, done it several times before, and now it’s becoming more like a habit. Rahul Tewatia scored the winning runs of yet another match, when he played the scoop shot past the short fine for a boundary.
In Shubman Gill's words, " !" ⚡#AavaDe | #PBKSvGT | #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/eoaaGWiC6y
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) April 13, 2023
GT needed seven off six balls with seven wickets remaining. Sam Curran was the bowler, and David Miller was on strike. Miller began with a single, but the very next ball Curran removed Shubman to dampen GT’s spirits.
But, there was nothing much to fret for GT, as Rahul Tewatia walked out to bat.
Tewatia began with a single, and Miller returned the favour in the fourth ball of the over, only for Tewatia to finish things off in the fifth. For GT, it was their third league win in four matches.
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