By In a thrilling final-over victory over Gujarat Titans, powered by Shashank Singh’s knockout blows, Punjab Kings secured their second win of IPL 2024. It was an unforgettable finish orchestrated by Shashank, who, despite not being the Shashank Singh the Kings sought in the auction, made himself an undroppable name in the eleven over the course of this season and particularly in this match. Coming in when the Kings were struggling at four for just 70 in the ninth over, Shashank remained unfazed throughout, injecting much-needed impetus into the innings. A match-winning partnership ensued as impact sub Ashutosh Sharma matched Singh in shotmaking, including three boundaries off an over from Azmatullah Omarzai. The equation trickled down to 7 off the last over, bowled by Darshan Nalkande, who hadn’t bowled an over until then. Despite Sharma’s dismissal, luck favored Singh as he got an outside edged boundary before sneaking a leg-bye off the penultimate ball, sealing the thrilling victory.
Shubman Gill was there right through the innings but not quite so imposing. He batted all 20 overs but faced only 48 balls in all. The first six down the ground off the left-arm spinner was as silken as lofts down the ground come. He would also loft Kagiso Rabada straight down the ground for a six once and then pull him over long on for one more, there was also a forehand slap down the ground for a four off a slower ball for another boundary. All of these were indicative that the pitch did not hold much demons but also that Gill could unleash a good range of strokes enroute to his 89* – the highest individual score of IPL 2024.
Record Chase Under Shashank Singh’s Expert Leadership
Gill found commendable support from Wriddhiman Saha and Kane Williamson, who didn’t last too long but stitched together stands worth 29 and 40 respectively. Sai Sudharsan, playing with more intent this time, matched Gill shot-for-shot at one point in his 19-ball 33 with six boundaries. Despite Gill missing his hundred, falling short by 11, his team had got to nearly 200, proving to be a challenging target for Punjab Kings.
Despite losing Shikhar Dhawan early, Punjab were still in the chase thanks to Jonny Baairstow’s early flurry of boundaries. The opener got going as he pinged the cover boundary repeatedly with Azmatullah Omarzai offering some width. Noor Ahmed struck with his first ball bowling Bairstow through the gate and had Singh caught at point off an outside edge to rattle Punjab, who then found enough firepower in their lower middle-order to steal a sensational win.
Punjab Kings will head home to Mohali where they will take on the in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 9. Gujarat have a two-day gap where they’ll travel to take on Lucknow Super Giants on April 7.
Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans 199/4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 89) lost to Punjab Kings 200/7 in 19.5 overs (Shashank Singh 61) by 3 wickets.
