GT vs PBKS: GT faces their second loss as Rabada shines

GT vs PBKS: Punjab Kings registered their fifth win of the IPL 2022 and sentenced Gujarat Titans to their second loss in the tournament after they decided to bat first.

GT vs PBKS: The problems that occurred with GT’s batting

It can be said that pretty much everything went wrong with Gujarat Titan’s batting. They did get the desired start after Shubman Gill’s untimely run out in just the third over. His opening partner Wriddhiman Saha followed him soon after he left, in the next over while trying to play a loft shot against Kagiso Rabada. Skipper Hardik Pandya dismissed Rishi Dhawan to the keeper soon after the powerplay.

Gujarat was left without a boundary for 8 straight overs. The shackles laid out by Liam Livingstone were so strong that David Miller, along with Sai Sudharshan found it difficult to break them even though they steadied the innings during their tight period. Rahul Tewatia or Rashid Khan could not be productive or hit a boundary and both fell to Rabada off consecutive balls with the innings approaching the end.

GT vs PBKS: What worked for GT?

Sai Sudharsan tried his best to be productive by having a strike rate of just 130. He’d come in at a tough situation and quickly adapted to it but it did quite deteriorate at the other end. He also managed to hit some important boundaries towards the end and reached his maiden IPL fifty which pushed GT to get to a total that was defendable.

GT vs PBKS: Was GT good with the ball?

It wasn’t long enough, and it wasn’t fast enough. They got off to a good start against Punjab’s new opening pair, which included Jonny Bairstow in lieu of Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan. Bairstow, on the other hand, fell easily after getting a top edge off a Mohammad Shami short ball, which Pradeep Sangwan took superbly at long leg. It gave Gujarat a foot on the floor while defending a modest total.

GT vs PBKS: Who finished it for GT?

It was Shikhar Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa who took charge of finishing the job for Punjab Kings. The two batters were hostile in the counterattack. Dhawan played with no mercy with little to no gap for any mistakes during the powerplay. Rajapaksa relied more on his hand power and managed to muscle the ball towards boundaries as soon as he got on to the pitch. Their stand produced to put on 87 runs in just 60 balls to break open the chase. The partnership was broken when Rajapaksa got trapped for an LBW ten runs short of his half-century.

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GT vs PBKS: Further problems for GT

None at all, with Liam Livingstone adding the icing on the cake by bowling Mohammed Shami for 6, 6, 6, 4, 2, 4, allowing Punjab to end the chase in under 16 overs and boosting their Net Run Rate.