On a track that offered even bounce for long periods of the game, Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill and Mohit Sharma helped the top-placed Gujarat Titans to thump Lucknow Super Giants by 56 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Here are our takeaways from the match.
The Saha blitz
Saha continued the good form that he had shown against Rajasthan Royals with a quick-fire 43-ball 81 against Lucknow. In the second over itself, he pulled Avesh Khan for a four and a six. He then took on Mohsin Khan by smacking him for two fours and two sixes. The horizontal-bat shots didn’t stop from Saha’s willow as he went after Kyle Mayers in the eighth over. By the time he fell to Avesh, he had given his side a perfect start by sharing an alliance of 142 with Gill.
Gill shifts gears at the right moment
At the end of the fifth over, with Saha blazing away at the other end, Gill was on 15 off 11 balls. However, he shifted gears as the situation demanded to end up with an unbeaten 51-ball 94. The highlight of his knock was perhaps the way he lofted Ravi Bishnoi over extra-cover and down the ground in the ninth over. Today’s knock also illustrated that Gill has started to strike the right balance between attack and farming the strike in T20 cricket.
A valiant 70 from de Kock
For a while, Mayers and Quinton de Kock raised hopes of Lucknow putting up a fight, with an association of 82 for the opening wicket. It was a trademark innings from de Kock as he brought out the cut, pick-up and flick shots. Mayers too put on an exhibition of hitting skill with pulls and lofts. Even after Mayers was dismissed by Mohit, de Kock essayed a few eye-catching pulls and flicks before getting out to Rashid Khan in the 17th over.
So where did Lucknow go wrong?
Deepak Hooda has amassed a mere 53 runs this season. In this game, one could see that he was struggling for form as he finished with a 11-ball 11. His innings also meant that Lucknow lost their momentum. The track had also slowed down a bit by then, making it relatively tougher to hit through the line and on the up.
Mohit to the fore… again
Mohit, who wasn’t in Gujarat’s plans at the start of the season, employed into-the-pitch bowling, and bagged four wickets for just 29 runs. It was Mohit that broke the threatening stand between Mayers and de Kock. He also dislodged the dangerous Marcus Stoinis, Ayush Badoni and Krunal Pandya. Mohit’s strategy is generally based on hitting the deck hard – mixing up slower short ones and quicker deliveries. He can also nail the yorkers when needed.