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.