Eye-catching batting displays from IPL debutants Ayush Badoni and Abhinav Manohar also lit up a tense match at the Wankhede
Gujarat Titans 161 for 5 (Tewatia 40*, Hardik 33, Chameera 2-22) beat Lucknow Super Giants 158 for 6 (Hooda 55, Badoni 54, Shami 3-25) by five wickets
After Dushmantha Chameera and Avesh Khan bowled with rapid pace in the powerplay to begin Super Giants’ defence of 158, their spinners brought them control, despite the dew setting in at the Wankhede Stadium. Krunal Pandya, who bowled to Hardik Pandya (33 off 28 balls) for the first time in an official match, bested his younger brother. In the next over, Deepak Hooda bowled Matthew Wade for 30 off 29 balls.
It left Titans needing 81 off 49 balls, with Manohar, who had played all of four T20s before Monday, listed at No.7. With the left-handed pair of Miller and Tewatia in the middle, Rahul gave the offspinner Hooda another over, but the move worked against Super Giants as Tewatia and Miller walloped him for a four and a six each, narrowing the equation to 46 off 24 balls. As a result of that move, Chameera, Super Giants’ most penetrative bowler on the day, bowled just three overs.
Tewatia then laid into Ravi Bishnoi, before Avesh removed Miller in the 18th over to tighten the chase. Chameera tightened it even further with a nine-run penultimate over.
Avesh was left to defend ten off the last over, but Abhinav and Tewatia coolly sealed the deal for Titans, with five wickets and two balls to spare.
Mohammed Shami landed the very first ball of the match on a Test-match length with a bolt-upright seam. It veered in with the angle and then seamed away to scratch KL Rahul’s outside edge. The ball continued to nip around in the early exchanges, and Shami made two more incisions in the powerplay, storming through the defences of Quinton de Kock and Manish Pandey to leave Super Giants 29 for 4 in the fifth over. Varun Aaron, also struck in the powerplay, having Evin Lewis caught brilliantly by Shubman Gill off an uppish pull.
Full report to follow…
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
Source: ESPN Crickinfo