The Gujarat Titans skipper, Shubman Gill, accepted that the conditions at the Narendra Modi Stadium were tough for the batters, despite which the likes of Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar thrived in the chase.
Shubman Gill’s side have leveled their tally of points with the likes of three other franchises, including the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Rajasthan Royals, who also have 12 points after having played 10 matches this season.
However, they could not advance to the top four due to their poor net run rate; they have jumped right back into the contest, and their next matches will be crucial for them as well as their opponents.
Shubman Gill’s and Jos Buttler’s early dismissal could not help PBKS restrict GT
After the start of the innings, while chasing a small total of 164 runs. Shubman Gill was dismissed in the second over off Arshdeep Singh’s bowling. He remains the highest scorer in 2026, with 378 runs after having played nine matches into the season with a strike rate of 154.92.
With the massive wicket falling early, the Kings looked to creep back into the game. They then dismissed Jos Buttler with Vijaykumar Vyshak striking back after the power play. Butler’s dismissal surely handed PBKS a chance in the match.
However, Sai Sudharsan remained a firm obstacle on their way to a victory and their first successful win in the second innings with the ball. The batter reached the third half-century for the Titans this season, once again delivering when it mattered the most.
Washington Sundar guided GT off to a firm finish in a spine-chilling contest
Sai Sudharsan’s form has been undeniably good in this year’s IPL as well; however, his form has come quite late in the edition. Out of the last four matches, he has had fifty-plus scores on three occasions, including that massive century against the Royal Challengers at the Chinnaswamy.
Washington Sundar was introduced at number five after Nishant Sindhu, playing his first game in this edition of the IPL, was sent in at no. 4. Sundar held his nerve, batted thoroughly, and took the Titans home with an unbeaten 40 off just 23 balls.
In the final over from Marcus Stoinis, which did not start well for the batter, Arshad Khan struggled with just a single run off the third and fourth balls. The match seemed in a fix, with three runs needed off two balls, and finally Sundar cleared the fence with a massive swing over the square leg boundary.
This is not the kind of wicket where we’ll chase in 15-16 overs- Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill agreed that the conditions were truly challenging in the context of the game; however, the way the set GT batters took the innings as deep as they could was impressive from a winning team’s perspective.
“I think in chases like these, we would have liked to not take it as deep as it went, but two crucial points. This is not the kind of wicket where we’ll chase in 15-16 overs. So we thought maybe one over before or a couple of overs before. That was the talk,” said the GT skipper after the win.
“If someone is set, they should go deep because it’s not easy to hit from ball 1. Length balls weren’t coming as we play on other wickets. It was important for the batsman who is set… Luckily we had Washi, and he finished the game for us,” Shubman Gill praised Washington Sundar for hitting that final six that took Titans home.
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