The 16th game of IPL 2022 produced what was perhaps the game of the season so far, as Gujarat Titans pulled off a stunning victory against Punjab Kings. The dynamic Rahul Tewatia struck two sixes off the final two deliveries to ensure a fantastic victory for GT.
Shubman Gill followed up his innings in the last game with yet another brilliant showing, scoring 96 in 59 deliveries to get his side very close to the finish line. Punjab were also quite good with the bat, but they will rue the fact that they lost far too many wickets while they were on top, which is what cost them the game.
Liam Livingstone had set PBKS up perfectly for a score quite possibly in excess of 220, but some irresponsible batting from the Punjab middle order meant that the innings folded at 189, an excellent score in itself but several runs short of what it should have been.
Gujarat skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to bowl first. His counterpart, Mayank Agarwal, who opened the innings was unable to handle Pandya’s bowling, which was excellent in the powerplay, top-edging a slightly short delivery to continue his poor run of form this season.
Jonny Bairstow, who also made his first appearance for the Punjab Kings, departed shortly after, heading back after scoring just eight runs. Shikhar Dhawan was tasked with the responsibility of being the backbone of the Punjab innings, which he did, while Liam Livingstone got off to a great start. The Englishman was seemingly unfazed by the fact that his teammates were struggling against the Gujarat bowling, as he found the fence with ridiculous ease.
Dhawan held fort at one end, while Livingstone went hell for leather at the other before the opener could not pick a Rashid Khan googly, as Matthew Wade did his job behind the stumps. Dhawan’s dismissal did not slow Livingstone down. It also brought to the crease Jitesh Sharma, who batted in a similar fashion as Livingstone and took a particular liking to eventual hero Rahul Tewatia’s bowling.
Livingstone reached his fifty in just 24 balls before he looked to pull up the Punjab score big time, with even 220 not being a farfetched aim considering that they got to 150 before 15 overs were bowled. However, pacer Darshan Nalkande had other plans, as he picked up two wickets in consecutive balls to bring Guajarat back into the game. Livingstone also shortly departed for a 27-ball 64 as the Punjab innings fell apart. Rahul Chahar and Arshdeep Singh, towards the end, got a few boundaries as Punjab finished on 189/9 after 20 overs.
Gujarat got off to an excellent start, although it was largely a Gill show in the beginning. The youngster played some outrageous shots to get his side off to a flier. His opening partner Matthew Wade, however, was Rabada’s first victim, falling for a score of just six. Wade’s dismissal brought N Sai Sudharsan into the crease.
Sudharsan impressed a lot with his maturity and excellent shot-making, giving Gill an excellent hand in the mammoth run chase. Gill raced to a half-century as he continued his brilliant run in this year’s competition, as he and Sudharsan put on a century stand. Sudharsan’s departure after a well-compiled 35 brought skipper Pandya to the crease.
Pandya also looked extremely good, scoring a few boundaries, and looked destined to finish off the game for the Titans. However, Gill got into a bit of a shell in the latter part of his innings, after his score reached 90, and was dismissed at a crucial time, for an outstanding 96.
To make things worse for the Titans, Hardik Pandya was also run out off the first ball of the last over, making it almost impossible for the Titans to win, with the equation reading 18 off the last five.
David Miller scored a crucial boundary off the third ball to get the equation to 13 in three, following which he struck the next delivery straight back to Odean Smith, who decided to unnecessarily attempt an unlikely run out with a wild shy at the stumps, only to miss as the batsmen scrambled for a single.
With 12 needed off the last two deliveries, Tewaitia struck two massive sixes to take the match Gujarat’s way in the most dramatic fashion.
Brief scores
Gujarat Titans 190 for 4 (Gill 96, Sai Sudharsan 35, Rabada 2-35) beat Punjab Kings 189 for 9 (Livingstone 64, Dhawan 35, Rashid 3-22) by six wickets
