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After losing to Gujarat Titans by a huge margin of 56 runs, Lucknow Super Giants captain Krunal Pandya said that the wicket was good for batting, and if they had restricted the opponent to 200-210 runs, they had a chance to win the match at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
An explosive half-century by a returning Quinton de Kock and his 88-run opening stand with Kyle Mayers went in vain as a four-wicket-haul from Mohit Sharma helped Gujarat Titans (GT) clinch a 56-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Ahmedabad on Sunday. "We gave too many runs in the first innings. When it's 227, you have to go hard every over. The surface played really well. The batters said it was a good wicket to bat on. Had we restricted them to 200-210, we would have had a chance," Krunal said at the post-match presentation. However, Krunal said that his family would be proud as both the brothers were leading their teams and at the end of the day, points are coming home. "God has been kind to us, our family is proud, Mom is happy. She said at the end of the day, two points will come home only. There is so much love between me and Hardik, there's hardly any banter. I can tell him about that (the catch), definitely," he added. Put to bat first by LSG, GT were off to a fantastic start, with openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill hitting centuries for fun. Saha brought up his half-century in 20 balls, the quickest by a GT batter. The sixth over went for 15 runs, including a six each by both openers. At the end of the powerplay in six overs, GT was at 78/0. The gigantic 142-run opening stand was broken by Avesh Khan, who dismissed Saha for 81 off 43 balls. His knock consisted of 10 fours and four sixes, with substitute Prerak Mankad taking a fine catch at deep square leg. GT was at 142/1 in 12.1 overs. GT ended their innings at 227/2, with Gill unbeaten at 94 off 51 balls, consisting of two fours and seven sixes and David Miller at 21* off 12 balls, consisting of two fours and a six. Avesh Khan (1/34) and Mohsin Khan (1/42) took a wicket each for LSG. In chase of 228 runs, LSG was off to a great start thanks to an 88-run opening stand between a returning Quinton de Kock and Kyle Mayers (48 in 32 balls, seven fours and two sixes). But after Mayers' dismissal, GT took control in the second half of the innings. In the final 10 overs, GT gave away only 71 runs and took six wickets. de Kock's 71 off 42 balls, consisting of seven fours and three sixes went in vain. Gill was given the 'Player of the Match' award for his knock. With this win, GT has strengthened its hold at the top spot, with eight wins, three losses and 16 points. LSG on the other hand is at third position with five wins, five losses and a total of 11 points. Brief Scores: GT: 227/2 (Shubman Gill 94*, Wriddhiman Saha 81*, Avesh Khan 1/34) won against LSG: 171/7 (Quinton de Kock 71, Kyle Mayers 48, Mohit Sharma 4/29). (ANI)
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