Hardik Pandya, Saha lead GT to beat LSG by 7 runs in Tata IPL 2023

After winning the toss, Gujarat Titans elected to bat, saying it was the ‘smarter choice’ on this wicket, despite GT’s good chasing record.

Opener Wriddhiman Saha did his job well by scoring 47 runs, but his partner Shubman Gill disappointed today and returned to the pavilion in just 2 balls. Thereafter, GT skipper Hardik Pandya came on the pitch and along with Saha gave the team a steady start.

Skipper Pandya also brought up a half-century but was caught by KL Rahul when he was on 66. After that the batting line-up collapsed like a house of cards and GT somehow managed to score 135 runs in 20 overs losing 6 wickets.

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Krunal Pandya and Marcus Stoinis took two wickets each for LSG, while Naveen-ul-Haq and Amit Mishra grabbed one wicket each.

Chasing a target of 136, LSG skipper KL Rahul (68) opened with Kyle Mayers. Both gave the start that LSS needed. But Rashid Khan dismissed Kyle Meyers (24) in the 7th over.

Krunal Pandya then walked onto the pitch and scored some quick runs along with skipper Rahul, who brought up his half-century. Krunal (23) seemed to have a bad day with the bat as Noor Ahmed dropped him.

Although power hitter Nicholas Pooran came to finish the match, he too was dismissed by Noor Ahmed. After this Ayush Badoni was sent to bat, but he failed to make an impact. Later, KL Rahul was also shown the pavilion by Mohit Sharma. Soon, wickets started falling and LSG could manage only 128 runs in 20 overs losing 7 wickets, helping GT win the match by 7 runs.

Mohit Sharma and Noor Ahmed took two wickets each for LSG, while Rashid Khan bagged a wicket.

With this, defending champions Gujarat Titans have secured their fourth position in the ongoing IPL season, while LSG have slipped to the third spot after losing their third match out of 7 played.