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With four runs needed off the last two balls Rahul Tewatia went on to hit a boundary to take Gujarat Titans across the finish line against Punjab Kings at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium here on Thursday.
"I feel I should have finished the match but I feel Rahul Tewatia and Kings is a love story. In these types of games, there is definitely pressure on both teams. But it's important to keep getting those singles and not have dot balls," said Shubman Gill in the post-match presentation ceremony. Shubman Gill opened the innings for defending champions GT and went on to score 67 from 49 balls hitting seven fours and one six but lost his wicket in the last over. "The wicket got tougher towards the end. It was difficult to score boundaries at will. It was important for us to run hard and get those boundaries," said Shubman Gill. Chasing a target of 154, Gujarat Titans openers got off to a flying start as Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill hammered Arshdeep Singh for four boundaries gathering 18 runs in the third over of the game. GT reached the 50-run mark in five overs and by the end of the powerplay, they were 56/1 in six overs. "Just after their innings got over, we knew that it would be easier to score runs with the hard ball. It got slower with the old ball. So we needed to get off to a good start in the powerplay," said Shubman Gill. At one stage Gujarat Titans looked in the driver's seat to chase down the 154-run target but skipper Hardik Pandya's fall of the wicket by Harpreet Brar did bring Punjab back in the game. "We lost a bit of momentum when Hardik bhai got out. It wasn't a big score but it was important to rotate the strike and not have dot balls," told Gill. IPL veteran Mohit Sharma went on to make his debut for Gujarat Titans and the pacer bagged the 'Player of the match' award with bowling figures of 2 for 18 in four overs. "It's amazing. He [Mohit Sharma] was looking good in the nets, especially with the old ball. He has got a good yorker and he is very accurate. I think it was a great Gujarat Titans debut for him, " said Gill. With this win, Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat have reached the third position of the points table with three wins in four games behind Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants who have a better run rate. (ANI)
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