Kolkata: The challenge was to hit the ground running, something Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan haven’t had to do often in this IPL. No sixes were hit but nine boundaries in 27 balls meant the openers had helped Gujarat Titans stay in sync with a 236-run chase before Sudharsan couldn’t keep a drive down in the fifth over. Jos Buttler came out firing on all cylinders, scoring 33 off 17 balls till Akash Singh bowled him with a superb slower inswinger from wide of the crease.
Their big three down within 96 meant this time Titans didn’t have the foundation to pursue a big chase. Shahrukh Khan tried though, scoring a blistering fifty off just 22 balls but Titans ultimately lost by 33 runs to the already ousted Lucknow Super Giants at Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Between himself and Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh had added 69 in 33 balls, meaning Titans had 30 balls to score 71 and pull off a spectacular chase. Shahrukh kicked off that phase by throwing his bat at an Akash Deep delivery that took a thick edge and flew over short third for a four. Next ball, he hit him straight for a six in an over that brought Titans 17 runs.
Next over though, Rutherford couldn’t connect a flick off his pads well, holing out to Ravi Bishnoi who ran in from deep midwicket to complete the catch. Rahul Tewatia had a chance to turn around a lacklustre season so far but he too departed, leaving Shahrukh too much to do from one end.
The base of this win was set up by Mitchell Marsh’s hundred (117 off 64 balls) through the course of two massive partnerships—91 with Aiden Markram and 121 runs with Nicholas Pooran (56* off 27)—as LSG slowly turned up the heat on the Titans bowling.
Marsh warmed up with a swatted six off Arshad Khan in the second over before pulling Prasidh Krishna beyond deep square leg for a six. Twice he went after spinner Sai Kishore, first spearing him high in the sky to clear the sight screen before retracing almost the same path but in a lower orbit.
Against Rashid Khan however, Marsh came into his element, taking 25 runs off his first over to propel LSG’s run rate. Unusually starting with a half volley that was hit for a sobering six, Rashid immediately resorted to the googly that was cut away for four. To that, Rashid responded with a tossed-up delivery that Marsh cleared his front leg to swing over long-off for a six. Caught off guard, Rashid conceded two short balls that were deservedly dispatched for consecutive boundaries.
Bringing Rashid Khan to apply the brakes on LSG’s score was perhaps the plan given Markram, who too played his part with a 24-ball 36, had been dismissed just two overs ago. Instead, their innings had got more momentum thanks to this onslaught.
Sending Nicholas Pooran at No 3—though it was on the cards since Rishabh Pant hasn’t been quite himself of late—was the master stroke that perhaps took the game away from the Titans.
Facing his first ball from Kishore, Pooran swung clean through the line to hit him for a six over long-off. Rashid was again taken to the cleaners with a statement of a six, Pooran getting forward and muscling a fuller delivery over long-off and messing with Gill’s middle-overs plans.
Kishore was clattered for a six and four so Gill turned to Mohammad Siraj but he too couldn’t change the narrative. Pooran scooped him over short fine-leg for four and two balls later, cleared his front leg and clubbed a cutter from Siraj over deep mid-wicket for a six.
Not only the runs, more devastating was that strike rate of 207 on a day all four LSG batters had aggregated strike rates of at least 150. Even Pant got a move on, lofting Kagiso Rabada over his head for a six before backing away from his stumps and clobbering him over deep backward square-leg for another six in the last over, ensuring Titans’ batting finally felt stretched this time.
