Kamal Ghorui
LUCKNOW: Gujarat Titans rode on authoritative half-centuries from captain Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler to beat Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets with eight balls to spare at the Ekana Stadium on Sunday, sealing their second straight win while handing the hosts a second successive defeat at home.Composed and in control, Gill and Buttler defused any pressure in the chase, keeping LSG on the back foot throughout and silencing a hopeful home crowd. Earlier, disciplined medium-fast bowling, led by Prasidh Krishna, ensured Gujarat restricted Lucknow to a manageable total after opting to field.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Gill anchored the pursuit with his 28th IPL fifty, also crossing the 4,000-run mark in the league with a boundary off Mohammed Shami. Buttler matched him stroke for stroke, bringing up his 26th IPL half-century while also completing 14,000 T20 runs and 100 fifties in the format.Gujarat began steadily, with Gill and Sai Sudharsan adding 45 in 5.1 overs before Sudharsan fell. Gill then stitched a decisive 84-run stand off 58 balls with Buttler, effectively taking the game away from the hosts. By the time Gill departed at 129/2 in the 15th over, the result was all but sealed. Buttler fell soon after, but Washington Sundar (21*) and Rahul Tewatia (10*) completed the formalities with ease.The result carried a touch of symmetry. Last year, on April 12, LSG had beaten GT at the same venue. This time, Gujarat returned the favour emphatically.Earlier, Lucknow recovered from early jolts to post 165 in 20 overs, a total that ultimately proved insufficient. Mitchell Marsh gave them a flying start with 11 off four balls before Kagiso Rabada struck in the second over. Rishabh Pant and Aiden Markram counterattacked, adding 31 off just 16 balls, but Pant’s brisk knock of 18 ended in the fifth over.Despite losing wickets, LSG recorded their best powerplay score of the season at 60/2. However, they failed to build on the platform. Markram made 30 but fell at 69/3, and Ayush Badoni soon followed, leaving the middle order exposed.Nicholas Pooran and Abdul Samad attempted a rebuild with a 35-run stand, but the innings never gained momentum. Pooran fell to Prasidh Krishna at 109/5, with Gill taking a neat catch, and wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals. Samad’s 18 lacked fluency, and Mukul Choudhary’s dismissal at 131/7 further dented their hopes.Krishna was the standout with the ball, finishing with four wickets and controlling the middle and death overs, while Rabada, Mohammed Siraj and Ashok Sharma chipped in with crucial breakthroughs to keep LSG in check.A late flourish from Shami, who struck an unbeaten 12 off five balls, alongside George Linde, lifted Lucknow past 160. But yet another underwhelming effort from the top order meant the total was never quite enough against a confident Gujarat batting line-up.
