Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma, and Mohammed Shami fought together to steal a game that the Lucknow Super Giants had in their grip. When the hosts needed a comfortable 31 to win from 36 balls with as many as nine wickets remaining and a well-positioned KL Rahul in the middle, the Gujarat Titans’ bowlers turned the tables on the opponents.
When the total reached 23 off 18, the situation started to turn around when Noor Ahmad took two wickets for one run in nine balls, putting the pressure back on Super Giants. By taking the wickets of Rahul and Marcus Stoinis on the second and third deliveries of the last over, Mohit basically brought an end to the game when 12 runs were needed off of six balls.
Shami delivered a tight 19th over for five runs at this time. Ayush Badoni and Deepak Hooda attempted dangerous second runs when 10 were needed off three, but they were run out, and a dot ball secured the Titans’ victory.
The Titans increased their undefeated streak against the Super Giants to 3-0 and are now tied with the three clubs above them in the IPL points standings on eight points.
Gujarat Titans’ slowest powerplay of IPL 2023
Early signs indicated that Lucknow’s black dirt pitch would benefit spinners significantly more than quicks. They bowled three of the game’s first six overs, and Krunal even had success when Shubman Gill came down to attack but gave an easy catch to long-off after the ball took a leading edge while spinning. Hardik Pandya moved up to No. 3 after noting the absence of speed on the field and realising they required a more experienced player to lead the innings. WriddhimanSaha, meanwhile, launched an all-out assault and quickly reached 34 off 24 to raise the score to 40 for 1, which remained Titans’ lowest in the powerplay this IPL.