Livingstone, Dhawan sizzle as Punjab Kings beats Gujarat Titans by eight wickets

Indian Premier League: Punjab Kings rode on Kagiso Rabada’s four-wicket haul (four for 33) and Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten 62 (53b, 8x4, 1x6) to beat Titans by eight wickets at the D.Y. Patil Stadium on Tuesday.

Liam Livingstone's pyrotechnics catapulted Punjab Kings to an eight-wicket win over Gujarat Titans.

Gujarat Titans won the toss against Punjab Kings and decided to bat first — becoming the first team to do so in a night game in this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

But that move didn’t pay off as Punjab Kings rode on Kagiso Rabada’s four-wicket haul (four for 33) and Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten 62 (53b, 8x4, 1x6) to beat Titans by eight wickets at the D.Y. Patil Stadium on Tuesday.

After Rabada restricted Titans to 143 for eight, despite an unbeaten 65 by B. Sai Sudarshan, Punjab Kings lost its opener Jonny Bairstow early.

But Dhawan stepped up and forged an 87-run stand with Sri Lankan Bhanuka Rajapaksa (40, 28b, 5x4, 1x6) for the second wicket to ensure there was no slip-up.

While Dhawan, who scored his third half-century of the season, started cautiously, Rajapaksha looked aggressive - hitting Mohammed Shami four a couple of fours in the third over. Dhawan, too, joined in with a six and a four off Alzarri Joseph in the next over, and there was no looking back for Kings.

As Lockie Ferguson bowled the 12th over, Dhawan hit a four on the third ball, to bring up his 47th IPL half-century. Two deliveries later, Rajapaksha sent Ferguson for a six, but was trapped leg before off the next ball.

By then, Kings needed 47 runs from 48 deliveries and with Dhawan and Liam Livingstone (30 n.o., 10b, 2x4, 3x6) around, it was smooth sailing. Livingstone picked up 28 runs in the 16th over off Shami to ensure the Kings romped home with 24 balls to spare.

Earlier, with a spot in the playoffs almost assured, Titans changed their strategy and decided to defend a total. But that plan did not yield the desired result as the side was reeling at 46 for three after seven overs - losing openers Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill and captain Hardik Pandya.

With the top three batters back in the dugout, Sudharsan forged a 23-run stand with big-hitter David Miller, but that was not enough as Rabada caught the South African batter at long-off, off a Livingstone delivery.

Featuring in his fourth IPL fixture of the season, the Chennai-based Sudharsan built another 45-run stand with Rahul Tewatia for the fifth wicket, before Rabada tempted Tewatia to offer a catch to Sandeep Sharma at short third-man. Even though Sudharsan scored his first half-century of the tournament, it wasn’t enough.