IPL 2024 | Twitter reacts to Sai Kishore-Tewatia leaving Kings wrecked in final Mullanpur game

04/21/2024

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The string of defeats continues for the Punjab Kings as Gujarat Titans chase down a paltry 143-run target by three wickets. R Sai Kishore’s four-fer broke the PBKS backbone but their bowlers were resilient before Rahul Tewatia eased another chase against them in the last Mullanpur game this season.

Brief Scores: PBKS: 142 [Prabhsimran: 35, Brar: 29; Sai Kishore: 4-0-33-4] lost to GT: 146/7 [Tewatia: 36*, Gill: 35; Harshal: 3-0-15-3] by 3 wickets

With Shikhar Dhawan absent for yet another match, Sam Curran continued to open the innings for Punjab Kings after deciding to bat first during the toss. Prabhsimran Singh kicked off the contest on a high, notching 21-ball 35 in a 53-run opening stand before Mohit Sharma induced the nick. Following a 56-run powerplay, the wickets started to tumble as the Titans spin triumvirate wreaked havoc on the PBKS middle-order. They lost six wickets in a space of 51 balls and scored just 36 runs after the field restrictions were eased. However, Harpreet Brar was resilient in his act and added 25 runs between 18-19 overs before Sai Kishore outdid him for his maiden fourth scalp in IPL. With the score reading 139/8 in 19 overs, Mohit Sharma conceded just three runs and GT was folded for 142 due to a run out in the last ball.

In reply, the Titans failed to get a good start as Arhsdeep Singh got the better of Wriddhiman Saha in the fourth over before Sai Sudharsan played second fiddle to Shubman Gill for a 44-run powerplay. However, the introduction of Liam Livingstone changed the course of the chase as he managed to get the better of on-song Gill and David Miller in the tenth and twelfth overs to reduce the opposition to 78/2 in 12 overs. Just 13 runs off the next couple of overs exerted additional pressure to which B Sai Sudharsan and Azmatullah Omarzai succumbed in the 15th and 16th over respectively. With 38 required from the last four overs, a Rahul Tewatia masterclass was up for the grabs as he always does against Punjab. He hit five fours and a couple of sixes in the next two overs to curtail the equation down to five needed off the last two overs. To make the road bumpy, Harshal Patel bucketed two wickets in the 19th over for just four runs before Tewatia nicked one towards fine leg to overhaul the chase with five balls to spare.

Once again

Does this time & time again, Tewatia! Play the crucial knock to take his team over the line. One of the spunkiest players in the IPL!👏👏👏#GT #IPLonStar
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) April 21, 2024

Never ending love story

Rahul Tewatia is born to defeat Punjab Kings. A never ending love story. pic.twitter.com/VKF8IpTuZE
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) April 21, 2024

Another one

Gujarat Titans beat Punjab Kings for the third time in IPL

IPL 2022 - Winning hit came of Rahul Tewatia's bat

IPL 2023 - Winning hit came of Rahul Tewatia's bat

IPL 2024 - Winning hit came of Rahul Tewatia's bat
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) April 21, 2024

Should he be?

Is Tewatia on the radar of selectors for T20 WC? He should be. Fantastic finisher, brilliant fielder, can bowl leg spin too
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 21, 2024

True

GT chase felt like this. I m not even that happy with this win. Our batting still needs to be fearless pic.twitter.com/mMYl19hyCs
— Archer (@poserarcher) April 21, 2024

LOL