GT qualify after overwhelming LSG

The Gujarat Titans (GT) defeated the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the fifty-seventh game of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). The match was played in the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Shubman Gill was adjudged to be the Man of the Match.

Titans looking for singles, not boundaries

Last Monday, Hardik Pandya became the first captain this season to opt to bat first in a night game against Punjab Kings, and he did it again a week later, implying that the success of teams batting first in Pune influenced his decision.

His team got off to a poor start, reaching 35 for 2 after the powerplay, with both Khans, Mohsin and Avesh, claiming early wickets. Mohsin Khan could have had a second, which would have seen Shubman Gill removed first ball, but at the end of the first over, Karan Sharma threw down a difficult chance diving forwards at deep third man.

Pandya began rebuilding with Gill following the strategic pause, edging Avesh Khan behind, and the Titans were cautious in their approach with Rashid Khan carded at No. 7. They chose to rebuild their innings by hitting the ball around rather than attacking, and David Miller's six over cover was the only one of their innings. Krunal Pandya, who had only bowled one over in the Super Giants' previous two games, rolled through his four overs for 24 runs; he was the only spinner they deployed when Ravi Bishnoi was dropped.

They hit 61 singles in an inning, tied for third most this season, with Gill hitting 31 of them. Miller and Gill added 52 runs in 41 balls, while Rahul Tewatia's cameo - after being dropped by Deepak Hooda - and Jason Holder's costly final over of 16 runs ensured the Titans reached a score that appeared to be close to par.

Dayal is back

Yash Dayal, a left-arm fast bowler from Uttar Pradesh, had not played for the Titans since their win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, missing their last three games with a niggle, but he returned as the Titans reshuffled their lineup, replacing Lockie Ferguson, Sai Sudharsan, and Pradeep Sangwan with Dayal, Ravisrinivasian Sai Kishore, and Matthew Wade.

Dayal had Quinton de Kock and Sharma caught at cover point and deep third, respectively, in the powerplay, but he was unlucky to let up 24 runs, 10 of which came from fake shots immediately before he dismissed those two hitters. The Titans had claimed three wickets in the powerplay after Mohammad Shami smashed a hard length and inducing a top-edged lift from Kananur Lokesh Rahul once the pipe burst.

Rashid makes appearance

The Super Giants had shown little weakness to spin to this point, but crumbled against Khan and Kishore on what Rahul described as "a hard and challenging pitch" that provided plenty of help for spinners throughout.

When Khan came on to bowl the eighth over, they were 44 for 3, but with the first ball of the 14th, they were 70 for 9. Wriddhiman Saha took the first two wickets: Pandya was foxed by a googly and overbalanced, and Ayush Badoni was halfway down the field when Kishore tossed one up and beat him in the flight.

Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, and Jason Holder were the Super Giants' last hope, but Hooda summoned Stoinis through for an impossible second run and left him stranded mid-pitch as Miller's throw came in from square leg, and Holder was caught dead by Khan's fast, flat legbreak.

As Mohsin Khan fell to a wild heave, Kishore retrieved another before Hooda top-edged Rashid Khan. Avesh Khan's two sixes prevented Rashid Khan a hat-trick and took some of the luster off his stats, but a superb catch by Saha via a thin inside edge guaranteed he finished with 4 for 24 - the first four-wicket haul in his 88-match IPL career.