Picture Credit: IPL
Gujarat Titans beat Lucknow Super Giants in their Indian Premier League debut at the Wankhede Stadium in a thrilling five-wicket victory. Hardik Pandya’s side were superb from ball one as they dismissed LSG captain KL Rahul on the first ball of the match. Gujarat continued tormenting the Super Giants' top order as Indian pacer Mohammed Shami took three wickets in his first three overs.
Soon all-rounder Deepak Hooda, along with debutant Ayush Badoni stitched up a decent partnership of 87 runs to take the score to a respectable 158. The second innings also had a similar start as GT opener Shubhman Gill was dismissed for a duck after just three balls. Soon they lost the number three batter, Vijay Shankar, for four.
Then, captain Hardik Pandya with opener Mathew Wade built a 55 run partnership to stabilise the innings. But in the end, it was the crucial trio of David Miller, Rahul Tewatia and Abhinav Manohar who sealed the game for the Titans.
Here are some of the highlights from the game:
- Mohammed Shami’s fiery spell
Several experts had called out Mohammed Shami for under-performing in the IPL. But in the last match, he torched the Lucknow top-order. He took his first wicket on the first ball of the match dismissing KL Rahul. Then he clean bowled Quinton de Kock for seven followed by another peach of a delivery which bowled out Manish Pandey at six.
2. Shubman Gill’s sensational catch
Amidst Shami’s insane bowling spell, Gujarat opening batter Shubman Gill managed to pull off an incredible catch which dismissed Evin Lewis at 10. While fielding at mid-wicket he spotted the ball, ran back miles and dived to take a sensational catch. Gill replicated Kapil Dev’s catch from the 1983 World Cup final against the West Indies.
3. Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni's 87-run Partnership
After struggling at 29 - 4, Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni started piling a massive partnership. Hooda ended his innings at 55 from 41 balls as he hit six fours and two sixes. Whereas Ayush Badoni started off slow but then picked up to score 54 off 41 with four fours and three sixes.
4. Rahul Tewatia’s 40-run flurry
As Gujurat lost their set batting pair of Mathew Wade and Hardik Pandya, Rahul Tewatia alongside David Miller finished the game. Tewatia scored an incredible 24 ball 40 to seal the victory after David Miler perished to Avesh Khan’s delivery at 30. In his 40-run knock, Rahul Tewatia hit five fours and two sixes.