Mohammed Shami hasn’t played white-ball cricket for India after the team’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign in November last year. However, featuring in his first game for Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, Shami had a dream opening burst, picking up three Lucknow Super Giants wickets inside the first five overs.
Opting to ball, Shami sent Super Giants captain K.L. Rahul back for a golden duck. He followed it up by cleaning up Quinton de Kock. The India speedster then rearranged Manish Pandey’s stumps.
After Shami’s fiery spell reduced Super Giants to 29 for four, Deepak Hooda (55, 41b, 6x4, 2x6) and Ayush Badoni (54, 41b, 4x4, 3x6) helped the team rebuild and post 158 for six in 20 overs.
But in the end, it was not enough as Rahul Tewatia (40 n.o., 24b, 5x4, 2x6) and Abhinav Manohar (15 n.o., 7b, 3x4) forged a 23-run stand off 13 deliveries for the unbroken sixth wicket to guide Titans to a five-wicket win with two balls to spare.
As it happened|
Chasing a tricky total, Sri Lankan pacer Dushmantha Chameera dismissed Titans’ Shubman Gill (0) and Vijay Shankar (4) inside the first three overs. With the Super Giants bowlers breathing fire, Titans captain Hardik Pandya (33, 28b, 5x4, 1x6), who hasn’t played competitive cricket since last year’s T20 World Cup, stitched together a 57-run stand with Matthew Wade (30, 29b, 4x4) to steady the ship.
In a battle between the Pandya brothers, Krunal got the better of Hardik, having him caught at long-off by Pandey. Hardik aimed to send a tossed up delivery over the bowler’s head, but only managed to offer an easy catch to Pandey. Minutes later, Hooda cleaned up Wade to put the pressure back on Titans.
At a time when the game seemed to have tilted Super Giants’ way, Tewatia combined for a 60-run stand with David Miller for the fifth wicket. The South African scored 30 off 21 balls with one four and two sixes before being sent back by seamer Avesh Khan.
In the final over, Titans needed 11 but Abhinav hammered two boundaries off Avesh before Tewatia sealed the deal with a boundary.
Super Giants, however, will be disappointed to have let it slip after an incredible batting show by Hooda and Badoni, who made his IPL debut.
Hooda, who went after Varun Aaron and Hardik, raised 87 runs for the fifth wicket in the company of Badoni. By the time Hooda was trapped leg-before by Rashid Khan, the Lucknow outfit was firmly back in the game. Krunal Pandya (21 n.o., 13b, 3x4) and Badoni put together 40 to finish the innings with a flourish. However, the effort proved inadequate.
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