As it happened: Gujarat Titans win thrilling battle of newcomers by five wickets

Gujarat Titans make a statement of intent in opener

By Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editor

Kolkata: Gujarat Titans showed it was not always the big names, but how a team fares on a particular day, matter the most in this format when they beat Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets in a battle of newcomers in IPL 2022 this evening.

It was a team performance by the Hardik Pandya-led side as their bowlers, namely the old warhorse Mohammed Shami, delivered the sucker punch first by removing the top three of rival skipper KL Rahul for a golden duck, Quinton de Kock and the experienced Manish Pandey.

Lucknow started their defence well with Sri Lankan Dusmantha Chameera striking early to remove opener Shubman Gill and Vijay Shankar in successive overs. However, a 57-run partnership for fourth wicket between Pandya and Matthew Wade and then delightful cameos from Rahul Tewatia and David Miller took them over the line.

Deserving win

A highly deserving win by Gujarat Titans in the battle of newcomers. The 50-run partnership between Rahul Tewatia (40 off 24 balls) and David Miller (30 off 21) helps them chase down a challenging target of 159 with two balls to spare. The bowlers, especially, Mohammed Shami did really set it up well for them.

Mission possible for Gujarat?

Rahul Tewatia finds Deepak Hooda in the arc and picks a six over mid-wicket while David Miller follows suit. Suddenly, the run-rate drops to 11.5 though the job is still daunting. Can Gujarat do it from here?

Pandya gets Pandya

It's just the dismissal the sports headline writers needed. Krunal had the last laugh in their first meeting in opposing teams when Hardik failed to clear the long off boundary off the left-arm spinner. Just the breakthrough Lucknow needed and with the asking rate hovering close to 9.5, they seem to be enjoying the edge now.

Hardik Pandya, Wade repair early damage

Skipper Hardik Pandya has made a promising start here and makes the most of loose delivery from Ravi Bishnoi outside the off stump for a six over extra cover. The dew is clearly troubling spinners Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya as younger of the Pandya brothers and Wade are doing a fine repair job here. 

Chameera strikes early blows

Gujarat Titans, which has a thin lower order, begins poorly. Sri Lankan seamer Dushmanta Chameera struck twice, first removing Shubman Gill and then landed a perfect yorker to get Vijay Shankar - a delivery right from the Lasith Malinga school.  

Young Badoni shines in company of Deepak Hooda

By Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editor

Kolkata: Deepak Hooda found an able ally in young Ayush Badoni as they staged a great recovery act for Lucknow Super Giants and steer them to 158 for the loss of six wickets against Gujarat Titans on Monday.

The score may seem a little before par with a surfeit of dew already, but having been reduced to 29 for four at one stage, it was difficult to imagine the KL Rahul-led outfit reach even a 130-ish score. The 87-run partnership for fifth wicket between Indian allrounder (55 off 41 deliveries) and Badoni (54 off 41) brought them back into the game.

Gujarat Titans will not exactly be happy that they allowed such a counterattack after the halfway mark after old warhorse Mohammed Shami struck three telling blows to remove Rahul off the first delivery of the innings, then Quinton de Kock and Manish Pandey.

The Hardik Pandya-led team may find scoring easier but will have to apply themselves – and a lot depends on their openers Shubman Gill and Matthew Wade.

Krunal Pandya joins the act

Krunal Pandya, who formed the lower order engine for Mumbai Indians for so long, joins the impressive Badoni to take Lucknow to the threshold of a 150-plus total. It was unthinkable at the halfway mark of the innings. 

A welcome 50-partnership

Deepak Hooda opens up as batting has become a bit easier now - he uses Aaaron's pace for a lovely pick-up shot for a six and follows it with another off Rashid. He brings up his half-century and together with young Ayush Badani, tries to steer the team to a fighting total. 

Enter Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan comes in the 10th over, and it's another unfamiliar sight not to see him in an orange shirt. He is asking questions straightaway as Deepak Hooda tries to get into an attacking mode. However, at 47 for four at halfway mark, Lucknow have quite a job on their hands.

A forgettable powerplay for Lucknow

Shami the old warhorse strikes again with a gem of an off-cutter to scalp the experienced Manish Pandey. An utterly forgettable powerplay for Lucknow as they manage 32 for the loss of four top batsmen. Skipper Pandya brings himself on - and there is Rashid Khan to follow.

Lucknow stutter inside powerplay

Is it going to be a IPL for forgotten heroes? Soon after Shami castled Quinton de Kock with a gem by bringing the delivery into the left-hander, Varun Aaron struck. Evin Lewis tried to break the shackles with the powerplay overs running out, but Shubman Gill ran back a good 15 yards to pull off a stunner. Skipper Pandya has got more than what he wanted! 

A dream start for Gujarat

The match is off to a sensational start. KL Rahul, the Lucknow captain, is beaten by the swing from Mohammed Shami off the first delivery as it takes the outside edge and Matthew Wade laps it up behind stumps. Pandya calls for a review as umpire is initially unmoved which confirms the spike. What a start for Shami!

Gujarat win toss, elect to field

Welcome to the clash of newcomers in the fourth match of IPL 2022. Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and quite expectedly, decided to field as the Wankhede track looks to offer something early on for his seamers. Being an old hand at this venue during his long stay with Mumbai, Pandya knows too well that the dew factor can be a factor too.

Kolkata: Who will have the last laugh in the clash between the two brand new IPL franchises, KL Rahul’s Lucknow Super Giants and Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans? An intriguing clash is on the cards in the fourth game of the 2022 season at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium this evening.

While Rahul has been a known quantity as the captain of his erstwhile franchise Punjab Kings as well as India, there is a lot of interest on how Pandya manages to revive his floundering career on the whole in a new avatar. Since the two newcomers are in either groups, the winner tonight can earn some brownie points.

The Lucknow franchise, which has the wily Gautam Gambhir as mentor in the dugout, has a better balanced team with a number of allrounders. The opening pair of Rahul and Quinton de Kock is a class act while on the other hand, Jason Roy’s last-minute pullout will rob Gujarat of serious depth.