Gujarat Titans collapsed spectacularly against pace and spin as Lucknow Super Giants broke its losing run to the former in the IPL with a 33-run win at the Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.
Titans’ biggest threat Mayank Yadav bowled only one over and went off the field but it found the man of the hour in seamer Yash Thakur whose fine spell (five for 30) destroyed the visiting side.
Chasing a target of 164, Titans were bundled out for 130. Left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya (three for 11) and leggie Ravi Bishnoi (one for eight) dealt crippling blows from which Titans never recovered.
There was not an inkling of what was to follow when Titans were given a rousing start by openers Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan.
Crucial strike
The stage was set for the visitors to take control but Yash Thakur’s final ball in the PowerPlay turned the contest on its head.
The pacer cleaned up Gill for 19 while Impact Player Kane Williamson (1) left without making an impact, falling to a superb flying return catch by Bishnoi in the seventh over.
Krunal prised out Sai Sudharsan (31) and B.R. Sharath (2) in his first over as Titans slumped to 61 for four.
Double-wicket maiden
Yash Thakur came back to dismiss Vijay Shankar (17) and Rashid Khan (0) in a double-wicket maiden over to push Titans to the brink (93 for seven).
In what turned out to be the final over of the game, Yash Thakur removed heavy-hitter Tewatia (30), who was caught by Nicholas Pooran in the deep. The bowler completed his five-wicket haul when Noor Ahmad was caught by Quinton de Kock, signalling a win for the hosts.
Earlier, the Titans bowlers impaired Super Giants early in the PowerPlay and the spinners stifled the scoring in the middle overs before Pooran (32 n.o., 22b, 3x6) broke the shackles with his customary finish and took Super Giants to a total of 163 for five.
Umesh Yadav scalped two wickets in his first two overs to rattle Super Giants before skipper K.L. Rahul (33) and Marcus Stoinis (58) added 73 for the third wicket to put the innings back on track
Pooran and Ayush Badoni (20) provided the impetus and powered the Lucknow outfit to a score that proved more than adequate.
Teams:
Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (c & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mayank Yadav.
Shubman Gill (c), BR Sharath (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Umesh Yadav, Spencer Johnson, Darshan Nalkande, Mohit Sharma.
