Punjab Kings (PBKS) edged past Gujarat Titans (GT) by a thrilling three wickets in the 17th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Shikhar Dhawan, PBKS skipper, opted to field first after winning the toss. Liam Livingstone made way for Sikandar Raza in the Punjab lineup, while GT missed David Miller due to a minor injury. Kane Williamson was brought in as Miller’s replacement.
Gujarat’s innings centred around a dominant knock from their captain, Shubman Gill. Gill spectacularly returned to form, smashing an unbeaten 89 runs off just 48 deliveries. Wriddhiman Saha provided early support with 11 runs, while Williamson chipped in with a valuable 26. Sai Sudharsan played a quickfire cameo of 33 runs from 19 balls, and Rahul Tewatia provided a late flourish with an unbeaten 26 off just 8 deliveries. Kagiso Rabada picked up two wickets for PBKS, while Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel claimed one wicket each. GT set a formidable target of 200 runs for victory, losing only 4 wickets in their allotted overs.
Chasing a stiff target, Punjab’s start was shaky as they lost their skipper Dhawan to Umesh Yadav in the second over. Notably, this was Yadav’s 35th wicket against PBKS, the most by any bowler against a single team in IPL history. Jonny Bairstow and Prabhsimran Singh attempted to rebuild the innings with a brisk 35-run partnership off 24 balls. However, young spinner Noor Ahmad dismissed both Bairstow (22) and the dangerous-looking Prabhsimran (35) within a short span.
Under pressure, Shashank Singh rose to the occasion, scoring a well-deserved maiden IPL half-century. Raza (15) and Jitesh Sharma (16) provided crucial support in the middle overs. In the end, it was the late hitting by Ashutosh Sharma (31* off 17) that sealed the victory for Punjab.
This win marked the highest run chase of IPL 2024. With this victory, Punjab climbed to fifth place in the points table with two wins and two losses. GT, on the other hand, slipped to sixth due to a slightly inferior net run rate despite having the same win-loss record.
Shashank Singh was named the man of the match for his match-winning innings as Punjab Kings won their first away game of the tournament.
Scorecard:
Gujarat Titans: 199/4, Overs 20, Shubman Gill 89* (48), Kagiso Rabada 2/44
Punjab Kings: 200-7, Overs 19.5, Shashank Singh 61* (29), Noor Ahmad 2/32