Ahmedabad, India
Punjab Kings (PBKS) registered their second win of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season after they beat 2022 champions Gujarat Titans (GT) by three wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday (April 4). Led by Shashank Singh's 61, PBKS registered their first away success of the season. Needing 200 to win, Shashank’s innings overshadowed Shubman Gill’s 89-run knock to help his side to a famous victory at the world's largest stadium.
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— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 4, 2024
Shashank leads PBKS to win
Chasing 200, PBKS did not have the best start to their innings and lost Shikhar Dhawan (1) in the second over of the match. Prabhsimran Singh (35) and Jonny Bairstow (22) then tried to steady the ship with a 35-run partnership for the second wicket. However, Gujarat Titans scalped wickets at regular intervals to dominate the contest.
With 62 runs needed off five overs, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma (31 off 17) then led from the front to get PBKS back in the contest. The pair put together 43 runs for the seventh wicket and steered the away side to the brink of a famous win. While Ashutosh was dismissed in the final over with seven runs needed in the final over, it was Shashank who led PBKS to their first away win of the season.
Gill fires GT to 199
Having been asked to bat first, it was Shubman Gill who was the shining star for the hosts as the GT skipper scored an unbeaten 89 off 48. His innings consisted of 6 fours and 4 sixes and stitched valuable partnerships with returning Kane Williamson (26 off 22) and Sai Sudharsan (33 off 19) to help GT get close to 200. Rahul Tewatia almost got the GT side to the magical 200-run mark and scored 23 off 8 in the death overs. His exploits helped GT to 199/4 in 20 overs with Gill carrying his bat.
For PBKS, Kagiso Rabada was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 44/2 while Harpreet Brar and Harshal Patel both ended with one wicket each.
Highest individual scores in IPL 2024
87*S Gill vs PK Ahmedabad
85 S Narine vs DC Vizag
84*R Parag vs DC Jaipur
83*V Kohli vs KKR Bengaluru
82*S Samson vs LSG Jaipur
What next for Gujarat, Punjab?
Gujarat next take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Lucknow on Sunday (April 7) evening as they search for their first away win of the IPL 2024. In their only previous away game, they were beaten by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a repeat of last season’s final. On the flip side, Punjab take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their first game in Mohali on Tuesday (April 9). Punjab had earlier beaten Delhi Capitals in their opening match which was played in Mullanpur.