AHMEDABAD: In a match dominated by batters from both the sides, it needed a magical piece of fielding to separate the class from the ordinary. Just as the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) openers Kyle Mayers and Quinton de Kock were threatening to run away with the chase of 228, Rashid Khan the fielder intervened with a stupendous catch in the eighth over to dismiss Mayers for 48 (32b; 7x4, 2x6) off Mohit Sharma's bowling.
After the initial powerplay yielded 72 runs for the visitors, LSG were limited to 49 runs in the next eight overs, which derailed their chase. Eventually, the Super Giants fell short by 56 runs as the defending champions flexed their muscles with the bat, ball and on the field to consolidate their position at the top of the table with 16 points from 11 matches. LSG have 11 points from 11 matches.
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Mayers and de Kock smashed Titans' premier pacers Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya to all corners of the field as the initial four overs yielded 50 runs. The move to introduce Khan and Noor Ahmed in tandem in the powerplay didn't yield results as the opener s targeted them too. That's when Pandya turned to Sharma.
The former India pacer is an uncanny operator and batters have generally failed to pick his slower ball. When Mayers pulled one of his slower balls, delivered on a good length, to the deep midwicket region, little did the West Indian realize that a fielder would lay hands to it.
Khan, though, had other ideas. He ran more than 20 metres sideways before sliding and completing a superb catch. Despite a half-century by de Kock, the other LSG middle-order batters - Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya - failed to provide the necessary acceleration in the middle overs and the visitors, in the end, lost tamely.
Earlier, the Virat Kohli template of batting was torn apart by the explosive hitting of Titans openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill. The duo put on 142 in 12.1 overs to help them amass 227/2.
1/10:GT vs LSG IPL 2023: Gill, Saha shine as Gujarat crush Lucknow by 56 runs
2/10:Hardik got better off Krunal
<p>Hardik Pandya got the better of his big brother Krunal on Sunday as holders Gujarat Titans thrashed Lucknow Super Giants by 56 runs in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.<br /></p>PTI
3/10:LSG elected to field
<p>In the first ever IPL match with two teams captained by brothers, Lucknow's Krunal won the toss and elected to field at the world's biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.<br /><br /></p>IANS
4/10:Saha-Gill's destructive partnership
<p>A destructive opening stand of 142 between Wriddhiman Saha (81) and Shubman Gill (94 not out) powered Gujarat to their highest ever IPL total of 227/2.<br /></p>IANS
5/10:Mayers-De Kock led the charge for LSG
<p>Lucknow put up a spirited reply with Kyle Mayers (48) and Quinton de Kock (70) leading the charge but they ended on 171/7 to allow Gujarat to consolidate their top spot in the 10-team table.<br /><br /></p>AP
6/10:Saha scored a quick-fire fifty
<p>Saha, a diminutive wicketkeeper-batsman, set up Gujarat's domination with sixes and fours to reach his fifty in just 20 balls before he fell to Avesh Khan.<br /></p>
7/10:Hardik and Gill led the onslaught
<p>Hardik, 29, and Gill extended the batting onslaught but the younger Pandya departed after Krunal, 32, took his catch. He made 25 off 15 balls.<br /></p>IANS
8/10:Fourth fifty of the season by Gill
<p>In-form Gill, who struck his fourth fifty of the season, put on a fiery stand with David Miller, who smashed 21, as Gujarat finished on this year's fourth highest team total.<br /></p>IANS
9/10:Mayers led the chase
<p>The left-handed Mayers began the chase strongly as he hit Hardik for a hat-trick of boundaries and then took on Mohammed Shami in a 19-run over.<br /></p>IANS
10/10:Mohit ended 88-run opening partnership
<p>India fast bowler Mohit Sharma sent back Mayers to break an 88-run opening stand and later took down dangerous batsman Marcus Stoinis to dent the chase.<br /></p>IANSThe assault began after the elder Pandya, captaining the visitors in place of the injured K L Rahul, won the toss and invited the hosts to bat first. Saha showed no mercy on left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan, who was returning from an injury, and began with two boundaries in the opening over.
The same treatment was meted out to Avesh Khan, who was pulled for a six and a four in the next over. An inside out six off Mohsin's next over was the pick of Saha's shots as the Titans raced to 53 in just four overs.
