Gujarat Titans earned their second victory in as many games as they defeated Delhi Capitals by 14 runs in their Indian Premier League 2022 clash in Pune on Saturday.
Shubman Gill starred with the bat as he scored 84 off 46 before Lockie Ferguson returned with figures of 4/28 from his four overs. Gujarat Titans posted a total of 171 and restricted Delhi Capitals to 157/9.
Delhi were rocked early in their chase as Gujarat skipper Hardik Pandya dismissed opener Tim Seifert in the second over.
Ferguson joined the attack soon after and put the momentum firmly in Gujarat’s corner by removing Mandeep Singh and Prithvi Shaw in his first over.
Delhi then had their biggest partnership as captain Rishabh Pant and Lalit Yadav got together at the crease. The duo added 61 runs for the fourth wicket before Lalit was run-out for 25 off 22.
Pant was soon dismissed by Ferguson for 43 off 29 and Delhi were in trouble having lost half their side. Axar Patel came to the crease and hit two fours but he was dismissed in the same over as Pant.
It all came down to Rovman Powell but once he fell to Mohammed Shami in the 18th over, it was always going to be Gujarat’s win.
Earlier, asked to bat first, Gujarat lost the wicket of Matthew Wade in the first over as Mustafizur Rahman announced his arrival this season in style. Vijay Shankar fell to a wonderful delivery from Kuldeep Yadav right after the powerplay and Delhi were doing well to contain the run-flow.
But Gill and Pandya then got together to add a crucial 65-run partnership for the third wicket. The skipper was dismissed for 31 off 27 but Gujarat’s innings was supported by cameos from David Miller and Rahul Tewatia.
The star of the show, however, was Gill who hit six fours and four sixes in his knock. The stylish right-handed opener held the Gujarat innings together and played some classy strokes on a green-ish pitch.
For Delhi, Mustafizur was the pick the pick of the bowlers and returned with figures of 3/23 from his four overs.