30th match, IPL: Gujarat Titans 135 for 6 (Hardik 66, Saha 47, Krunal 2-16, Stoinis 2-20) beat Lucknow Super Giants 128 for 7 (Rahul 68, Noor 2-18, Mohit Sharma 2-17) by seven runs 

Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma, and Mohammed Shami worked together to take away a game that had been very much in Lucknow Super Giants’ hands

When the hosts needed a comfortable 31 to win from 36 balls with as many as nine wickets remaining and a well-set KL Rahul in the middle, the Gujarat Titans bowlers turned the tables on them.

The turnaround began when Noor Ahmad took two wickets for one run in nine balls, putting Super Giants under more pressure when the total reached 23 off 18 balls. After that, Mohit hit a flurry of precise yorkers and slower balls for six singles. Shami bowled a short 19th over for five runs. When 12 runs were needed off six, Mohit pretty much ended the game with the wickets of Rahul and Marcus Stoinis on the second and third balls of the final over. A dot ball secured the Titans’ victory when they needed 10 off of three, but Ayush Badoni and Deepak Hooda were sacked while attempting risky second runs.

The Titans have improved their record against the Super Giants to 3-0 and are currently sitting on eight points, matching the three teams above them on the IPL points table.

More questions on Rahul?

It appeared that the LSG captain was ready to take on the bowlers on a slow and sluggish pitch when Rahul hit 30 off 19 and led his team to 53 for 0 in the powerplay with Kyle Mayers. The asking rate had dropped to less than six runs per over as a result of how well he and Mayers completed the boundary-laden powerplay.

Rahul raised his fifty off 38 balls, sewed a fifty stand with the two Mayers and negative. 3 Krunal Pandya, and when they needed 31 runs from the final six overs, he appeared prepared to see his team through.

But after the 13th over, the Titans’ bowlers stopped hitting boundaries and took advantage of the Super Giants’ slow play to win. Noor’s subsequent spell began the slide with wickets in continuous overs when Krunal was baffled while going for a hotshot and Nicholas Pooran was gotten off the main edge by Hardik Pandya while endeavoring a major breadth. Before Stoinis did the same in the final over, Rahul couldn’t keep up with the precise deliveries from Shami and Mohit in the final three overs.

Gujarat Titans’ slowest powerplay of IPL 2023

Early signs suggested that the black soil pitch in Lucknow would benefit spinners more than quicks. They bowled three of the initial six overs of the game and Krunal even made progress when Shubman Gill came down to go after however given a simple catch to long-off after the turning ball took a main edge. Hardik Pandya moved up to No. 1 because he noticed that the pitch lacked pace and realized that they needed someone older to lead the innings. 3. Wriddhiman Saha, on the other hand, went all out and scored 34 off 24 to make it 40 for 1, Titans’ lowest powerplay total this IPL.

Unbelievable win congratulations @gujarat_titans 👏👏 special bowling performance by one and only mr Sharma proud if u champ #mohitsharma #LSGvGT #TATAIPL @JioCinema

— Rahul Sharma (@ImRahulSharma3) April 22, 2023

LSG’s spinners show up. Kind of

Saha maintained the pace by making room and frequently coming down the pitch, but when he failed to clear long-on, he became Krunal’s second victim and was run out for 47 off 37. By then, nonetheless, Saha and Hardik had slammed Ravi Bishnoi, Super Monsters’ best bowler this season, out of the assault. His initial two overs went for 25 runs.

The Super Giants turned to the expertise of Amit Mishra, who delivered slow, loopy balls that made it harder to score. Abhinav Manohar took him on by hitting the long cover boundary, where Naveen-ul-Haq made a stunning diving catch. In the 12th over, Titans were 77 for 3 after losing wickets in successive overs.

Quiet death overs despite Hardik’s fifty

Hardik had struck the main six of the innings when David Mill operator went along with him at 92 for 4 in the fifteenth over, and Titans needed runs. Bishnoi and Avesh Khan dialed them back further with tight lines and taking the speed off, and inquisitive they subbed out Mishra when he had two overs left. As a result, Hardik would have to face Bishnoi in the 18th over, and the Titans captain would bowl him out for 4, 6, and 6 in a 19-run over, ending a 27-ball boundary drought. The first of those sixes likewise took Hardik to his initial fifty – off 44 balls – of the time to lift Titans practically without any help eventually.

Even without Mishra, the Super Giants prevailed in the final two overs because Naveen and Stoinis took all of the pace off the ball, bowled Hardik out in the final over, and kept Miller quiet with just 6 off 12 balls. Thankfully, this did not cost them in the end.