Gujarat got sixth win due to Washington’s ‘beautiful’ six, second defeat for table topper Punjab Kings.

New Delhi. For Gujarat Titans, scoring 11 runs in the last over was no less than a litmus test, especially when they had lost such close games earlier also. When Marcus Stoinis came to the crease holding the ball, the pressure could be clearly felt. The over started with a wide ball and then Arshad Khan got lucky when his inside edge went for a four. After this Stoinis made a comeback. Two runs and then a dot ball created silence in the stadium. Now the equation was 4 runs in 3 balls, and the game was completely neck and neck.

Another heart-pounding twist came on the fourth ball, when Arshad took a run by playing a yorker, but Stoinis had a narrow escape due to his inability to hit a straight throw. Now 3 runs were needed from the last two balls and Washington Sundar was on strike. Stoinis tried to bowl a yorker, but that ball turned into a full toss. Sundar was already ready, he played an excellent scoop shot and the ball went straight across the boundary for six runs. Gujarat Titans not only registered a spectacular win by four wickets with one ball to spare, but also left behind the shadows of their past defeats.

Gujarat Titans did not have a good start while chasing the target of 164 runs. Sai Sudarshan strengthened the foundation of the team by playing a brilliant half-century innings of 57 runs. Jos Buttler (26) and Nishant Sindhu (15) supported them well, but the Punjab Kings bowlers, especially Arshdeep Singh and Vijaykumar Vaishak, who took two wickets each, failed. Both maintained constant pressure and dragged the match till the last over. In those moments of pressure, Washington Sundar took the responsibility on his shoulders and changed the course of the match by playing an unbeaten inning of 40 runs, due to which Gujarat Titans achieved a thrilling victory by 4 wickets in 19.5 overs.

Gujarat registered its sixth win by defeating Punjab Kings.

Who is Suryansh Shedge? who played an inning of 57 runs
Earlier, Suryansh Shedge’s excellent inning of 57 runs paled in front of the storm of fast bowlers of Gujarat Titans. Due to which Punjab Kings team could score only 163 runs for 9 wickets. In front of the brilliant bowling of Kagiso Rabada (22/2), Mohammed Siraj (28/2) and Jason Holder (24/4), Punjab Kings lost five wickets for 47 runs in 8.4 overs. After this, Shedge made an important contribution in taking the team to a respectable score by making a partnership of 79 runs for the sixth wicket with Marcus Stoinis (40).

Shedge scored 27 runs in Sutar’s over.
Right-handed batsman Shedge, who has made headlines for playing fast innings for Mumbai many times in domestic cricket, respected the disciplined line-length of Gujarat bowlers while playing without haste, but also showed aggression when given the opportunity. He scored 27 runs against Manav Sutar in the 14th over of the innings by hitting three sixes and two fours and completed his half-century in just 24 balls. After completing his half-century, he returned to the pavilion after being caught by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler on Rabada’s ball, due to which Punjab’s innings was again derailed. He hit three fours and five sixes in his innings of 29 balls, while Stoinis hit five fours and one six in 31 balls.

Siraj gave double blow to Punjab in the beginning
Earlier, Siraj gave a double blow to Punjab at the beginning of the match by dismissing Priyansh Arya (two) and Cooper Connolly (zero) on consecutive balls in the opening over. Arya caught Nishant Sindhu, while the ball took the edge of Connolly’s bat and ended up in Butler’s gloves. Prabhsimran Singh (15) also could not face Rabada’s 152 kmph fast ball and was caught by Sutar. After this, Holder made Punjab’s situation worse by dismissing Nehal Wadhera (0) and captain Shreyas Iyer (19). Vadhera’s catch was also taken by Butler, while Iyer was bowled while trying to play the ball towards third man. Marco Janson (20) hit some strong shots in the last over of Rashid Khan (1 wicket for 32 runs) and took the team’s score beyond 160, but defending this score will be challenging for Punjab’s bowling which has been performing mediocrely throughout the season.