Gujarat Titans (GT) beat the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the top-of-the-table clash in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) by a massive margin of 62 runs to become the first team to qualify for the playoffs. Titans bowlers, led by spinners, bamboozled LSG batters on a track that was aiding them and defended a modest total of 144 runs.
In a surprise to many, skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bat first but he knew what he was doing as in the last 5 games in Pune, teams batting first have won the game as the track goes slower and slower as the game progresses. Titans notched up their ninth win of the tournament while LSG were subjected to their fourth loss.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, maybe Rajasthan Royals or Delhi Capitals, or even Lucknow Super Giants for that matter – Gujarat Titans were nowhere near the talk of playoff contenders before the start of IPL 2022. However, the Titans have surprised many with their consistent run in the tournament as they became the first team to make it to the playoffs.
Some outstanding individual contributions coupled with a fabulous bowling attack along with Hardik Pandya’s captaincy have helped the Titans make it to the playoffs and are on the course to seal a place in the top two.
Shubman Gill has often been criticised for his strike rate, however, he changed that this year with a couple of quickfire 80-plus knocks earlier in the season. Gill tailed off a little bit with a string of low scores but has slowly come back to his best in the last few games since his partnership with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha started clicking at the top. On Tuesday, the track in Pune was a sluggish one and Gill had to grind out an innings when the batters on the other end were either taking too many balls or getting out.
Gill paced his innings to perfection before hitting a few shots at the end as he played his most mature innings of the season, holding the one end to take GT to a respectable score on that surface, which eventually proved to be enough.
Lucknow Super Giants’ long batting line-up would have backed themselves to chase the score of 145 down, however, any surface which is aiding the bowlers, GT bowling attack will have a field day and they did. The pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Yash Dayal started the procession and Rashid Khan and the debutant R Sai Kishore just piled on LSG’s misery from then on.
Rashid, who has over 100 wickets to his name in the IPL registered his first 4-wicket haul as he bamboozled LSG’s middle-order. Rashid was brilliantly supported by Sai Kishore, who waited for almost 4 years for his first game in the T20 league. Kishore took a couple of wickets as well, as GT spinners with figures of 6/31 in 5.5 overs denied LSG the chance to stay at the top of the table.
