Gujarat Titans (GT) completed a comprehensive 56-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in match number 51 of the ongoing IPL 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, May 7.
Lucknow won the toss and decided to bowl first. However, their bowlers let them down as Gujarat ended up posting a mammoth 227-run total.
GT opener Wriddhiman Saha got his team off to a flying start, scoring 81 runs off just 43 deliveries. His opening partner Shubman Gill stole the show with his spectacular knock, remaining unbeaten on 94.
LSG's run chase started off on a promising note, with Kyle Mayers and Quinton de Kock stitching together a 88-run partnership at the top. However, the remaining batters failed to step up as they finished 171/7 after 20 overs.
Mohit Sharma was the pick of the bowlers for Gujarat, picking up four wickets while conceding just 29 runs from his full quota of four overs.
GT continue to be at the top of the points table. Following their win over LSG, they have become the only team to have 16 points in their kitty at this stage.
Lucknow, on the other hand, have 11 points to their name after as many games and are placed third in the standings.
Here, we will look at three instances that created a buzz during the GT vs LSG match.
#1 Krunal Pandya taking a sharp catch to dismiss brother Hardik Pandya
GT skipper Hardik Pandya showed positive intent during his stay at the crease, attempting to score runs at a brisk pace for his team. While he did play some wonderful strokes, his cameo ended in the 16th over.
The right-handed batter got out to Mohsin Khan. Hardik smashed a full-length delivery to the off side. While he got a decent connection, he ended up finding his brother Krunal Pandya at extra-cover.
Krunal completed a fine catch, considering that Hardik had hit the ball with a lot of power. The LSG skipper seemed to have hurt his hand while taking the catch, considering that the ball was hit very hard.
#2 Hardik Pandya surviving despite the ball hitting the stumps
Hardik Pandya got a massive reprieve during his innings against Lucknow. The GT skipper would have been dismissed for a two-ball luck had luck not favored him in the 13th over.
Hardik tried to play the flick shot off Avesh Khan. However, he failed to get the connection right as the ball hit his pads before trickling down and hitting the stumps.
Interestingly, in spite of the ball hitting the bottom of the stumps, the bails remained intact, and Hardik survived. He scored 25 runs from 15 balls in Sunday's game.
#3 Rashid Khan's awe-inspiring catch to dismiss Kyle Mayers
LSG openers gave their team a glimmer of hope with an impressive partnership at the top. However, the pendulum shifted in favour of GT after the run stand ended, thanks to a sensational fielding effort by Rashid Khan.
Kyle Mayers perished to a slower delivery by Mohit Sharma in the ninth over of the run chase. The southpaw looked to play the hook shot off the short-pitched ball. However, he could only manage to get a top edge.
Rashid, who was stationed at deep square leg, sprinted towards the ball and covered a lot of ground before completing an exceptional diving catch.
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