daniel chigunwe
ZIMBABWE T20 captain, Sikandar Raza made a winning start to this year’s Indian Premier League as Punjab Kings stunned Gujarat Titans by three wickets in a high scoring match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday evening. The Chevrons all-rounder had missed Punjab Kings’ opening three matches of the season while Thursday’s victory was their second in four matches.
Raza bowled two overs and conceded 22 runs, the joint highest average of the innings, as Gujarat made 199/4 off their 20 overs. Two other bowlers, Kagiso Rabada and Harshal Patel also went for 11 an over as Gujarat Titans captain and opener, Shubman Gill smashed an unbeaten 89 off 48 balls.
In the chase, Raza batted at number five and made 15 runs off 16 balls. His innings did not have a boundary and his departure left the Punjab Kings 111/5 after 12.2 overs, needing 89 runs from 7.4 overs.
They lost two more wickets before crossing the line with a ball to spare.
In the end, a brilliant, unbeaten 61 from just 29 balls from Shashank Singh took the Punjab Kings to a memorable victory.
Replying to Gujarat’s imposing total of 199-4 the Kings seemed in terminal trouble at 70-4 and 111-5, but 32-year-old Shashank produced one of the innings of his life to secure victory with a ball to spare.
Ashutosh Sharma (31 off 17 balls) contributed just as much to the transformation in Punjab’s fortunes which seemed doomed for much of the run-chase.
Afghani left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad (4-0-32-2) dismissed dangermen Jonny Bairstow (22) and Prabhsimran Singh (35) with his mystery deliveries while countryman Rashid Khan (1-40) accounted for Jitesh Sharma (16) to make Punjab’s task even harder.
With 35 runs required off the final two overs Punjab’s hopes were desperate but the 19th over from Mohit Sharma cost 19 runs and captain Shubman Gill’s gamble to give the final over to part-timer Darshan Nalkande, with just seven runs required, did not pay dividends.
Earlier Gill’s composed 89 not out anchored his team to a highly competitive total of 199-4 after batting cautiously for well over half of his innings before accelerating brilliantly in the closing overs to finish unbeaten on 89 from only 48 balls with six fours and four sixes.
Sai Sudharsan provided much needed impetus in the middle overs with a stylish 33 from 19 balls (6×4) while Black Cap Kane Williamson, replacing the injured David Miller in the starting XI, contributed an aesthetically pleasing but pedestrian 26 from 22 balls.
Rabada (2-44) claimed the wickets of opener Wriddhimam Saha (11) and Vijay Shankar (8) with bouncers, the first quick, the second slow, while left arm spinner Harpreet Brar opened the bowling and finished with the commendable figures of 1-33 from his four overs. But Gill was the star of the show with his calmness under pressure and ability to score quickly without overly compromising or complicating his style.
Nonetheless, it was the brief but potentially crucial cameo from Rahul Tewatia in the final two overs which turned the total from a ‘par’ score into a very good one.
The aggressive left hander smashed three fours and a six to finish unbeaten on 23 from just eight balls. Perennial under-achievers, Punjab, will undoubtedly derive huge confidence from a victory as unlikely as it might be important. — Sports Reporter/SuperSport.
Online Reporter
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