David Miller’s batting masterclass was aided by stand-in skipper Rashid Khan’s late blitz as Gujarat Titans chased down a 170-run target to defeat Chennai Super Kings in a last-over thriller and storm to the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 points table. GT became the first team to register five wins in six games and they are now top of the table, while CSK slumped to their fifth loss in six outings.
Miller waged a lone battle in the absence of regular captain Hardik Pandya and smashed an unbeaten 51-ball 94, while stand-in skipper Rashid Khan slammed a 21-ball 40 as GT chased down the total with one ball to spare.
GAIKWAD HITS FORM
Young opener Ruturaj Gaikwad roared back to form with a 48-ball 73 to help Chennai Super Kings post a competitive total of 169 for five after being invited to bat first in Pune. Gaikwad, who hit his maiden IPL fifty of this season, stitched a 92-run stand off just 56 balls with Ambati Rayudu, reviving CSK’s innings that was in a spot of bother at 32 for two in the sixth over.
Gaikwad’s knock was studded with five fours and as many sixes as he showcased signs of his 2021 form. On the other hand, Rayudu hammered four boundaries and two sixes, playing second fiddle to Gaikwad, who was in his elements.
However, CSK lost the plot after set batters Rayadu and Gaikwad departed in quick succession, slipping to 131 for four. While Rayadu was caught by Vijay Shankar at sweeper-cover, in a bid to score quickly, Gaikwad fell for 73 in the 17th over.
SRH JUGGERNAUT CONTINUES
SunRisers Hyderabad rode on Umran Malik’s fantastic bowling to hammer Punjab Kings by seven wickets and bag their fourth successive win of IPL 2022. The win took SRH to eight points, moving up from the middle-table rush to climb to the fourth spot, while PBKS remained in seventh with six points from as many matches.
LIVINGSTONE SHINES
England all-rounder Liam Livingstone continued to shine with the bat as the PBKS batter blazed his way to a 30-ball 60. Livingstone did not have any trouble on a slow track in Mumbai as he had shots all over the pitch.
Punjab Kings were reduced to 61/4 inside eight overs after being invited to bat. However, Livingstone had other plans as the PBKS star found a perfect ally in Shahrukh Khan (26) as the duo added 71 runs off 49 balls to revive them in the middle overs.
UMRAN STARS
Livingstone’s blitzkrieg was followed by some tearaway fast bowling from young pacer Umran Malik, who combined with his senior bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar to shift the momentum in SRH’s favour.
Umran became only the third bowler to bowl a maiden in the last over during the first innings of an IPL match. Irfan Pathan and Jaydev Unadkat are the other two bowlers to the milestone. The Young Turk bowled brilliantly in the death overs and finished with stupendous figures of 4-1-28-4.