A stunning late counter-attack from the unheralded duo of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma powered the Punjab Kings to an unbelievable three wicket victory against the Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2024 match on Thursday.
Shashank played the most memorable knock of his career so far, while Ashutosh Sharma showed the world why he is one of the most dangerous batters on the Indian domestic circuit.
Shubman Gill was his consistent self to guide the Titans to a huge total, while Rahul Tewatia provided the fiinishing touches at the end.
A look at the best knocks:
Shashank Singh
There was huge confusion during the IPL 2024 auction in December when Punjab Kings bought Shashank Singh at his base price of Rs 20 lakh.
It seemed that Punjab had bought the wrong 'Shashank Singh' -- two of whom were listed in the IPL auction -- as they approached the auctioneer to reverse the deal before they eventually settled for the 32-year-old Chhattisgarh player and later stated he was the one they were looking for.
And Punjab Kings will be delighted that they got the right Shashank Singh, who played the innings of his life to fashion to power the Shikhar Dhawan-led side to a thrilling three wicket victory with one ball to spare.
Punjab looked down and out on 71/4 in the ninth over when the little known Shashank walked out to bat. He survived an early leg before wicket review against spinner Noor Ahmad before he thumped the next ball for a six over long-off.
While Punjab's top order wilted, Shashank kept his composure and belted the Titans bowling all over the park.
Be it Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma or Rashid Khan, it didn't matter who was bowling at him, Shashank attacked every bowler who came up against him.
It was his attack against Umesh which re-ignited Punjab's hopes. He hit the veteran fast bowler for two fours and a six to bring up his team's 100 in the 11th over.
Shashank, who was popular for his big-hitting abilities in Mumbai's Kanga League, was frustrated at the lack of opportunities before he joined Puducherry and eventually moved to Chhattisgarh.
He made sure that the boundaries kept flowing in the middle overs. He even went after Rashid Khan, slogging the leg-spinner for a six over midwicket in the 14th over.
He slog swept, lofted the ball over the infield and used the field well to find runs in all directions.
The young man kept the hopes alive for Punjab when the chips were down. His attitude was so infectious that he found able allies in Jitesh Sharma and later Ashutosh Sharma down the order to breathe life into the Punjab chase.
Shashank brought up his maiden IPL half-century in the 18th over from just 25 balls as Azmatullah Omarzai was smashed for 16 runs!
Gujarat were still in control with 62 needed from five overs, but Shashank kept his team afloat with some useful partnerships. He added 39 from 19 balls with Jitesh and then his 43-run stand with another unlikely batting star Ashutosh Sharma turned the tide firmly in Punjab's favour.
The game could have swung either way as 13 were needed from seven balls, but Shashank smashed Mohit Sharma for a six. He then got a boundary off the leading edge in the final over bowled by Darshan Nalkande as Punjab literally snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Shashank scored a career-best 61 from 29 balls, having hit four sixes and six fours, as Punjab chased down 200 with one ball to spare.
Ashutosh Sharma
Punjab Kings made a timely change as they brought in Ashutosh Sharma as the Impact Player in the closing stages of their run chase against the Titans.
Ashutosh, who plays for Railways in domestic cricket, came into the IPL after he had slammed a sensational 11-ball fifty against Arunachal Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament to break Yuvraj Singh's record for the fastest fifty (12-ball 50 against England in the T20 World Cup in 2007) by an Indian in T20 cricket.
The 25 year old showed that record knock was not a fluke as he played an entertaining cameo of 31 from 17 balls to turned the match on its head against Titans.
Ashutosh, who was dropped by Umesh Yadav on 3 in the 17th over, made the hosts pay for that lapse.
The chase looked to be slipping out of Punjab's grasp as Mohit conceded six in the 17th over, leaving the visitors with a stiff task of getting 41 from the last three overs.
Ashutosh got the chase kick-started when he hit pacer Azmatullah Omarzai for three boundaries to get 16 runs from the 18th over. That was the moment which gave Punjab belief as he followed it up with a six off Mohit Sharma in the penultimate over.
He eventually perished in the final over, but his partnership with Shashank had secured the match for Punjab before the latter finished it off in the final over.
Sai Sudarshan
With scores of 45, 37, and 45, Sudharsan has been an important cog in the wheel of the Titans batting.
On Thursday, Sudarshan started his innings with a single down to long-off, the free flow of his bat as he played that shot was a first glimpse of his mentality.
The left-hander has been in good form in IPL 2024 and off the second ball he faced, he just steered a Harpreet Brar delivery past point for a four.
He used his favourite shot, the pull, to good effect as he took full on part-time spinner Sikander Raza, who was guilty of bowling short on a couple of occasions.
While taking the singles and twos, he punished the bad balls. Sam Curran, who strayed on the pads, was glanced the ball down to fine leg for a four!
He kept looking for the gaps and ran the singles swiftly. The sweeps and the straight drives came out occasionally and got the effective results.
In the 14th over, Sudarshan's entertaining cameo (33 off 18) was cut short by Harshal Patel. He tried to run the slower short ball to third man, but was beaten as he got a fine edge and was caught by the 'keeper.
Shubman Gill
The Gujarat Titans captain is without doubt among the best batters to watch in modern day cricket. Be it his cover drives or his straight drives, Gill has left everyone impressed with his immaculate strokeplay.
In sublime touch, Gill began in aggressive fashion, coming down the track to left-arm spinner Hardpreet Brar for a six straight back over the bowler's head.
He found boundaries on both sides of the wicket and showed great field placement awareness as he went about his business.
When he had Wriddhiman Saha and Kane Williamson for company, he was happy to rotate the strike while they took on the bowling.
But once Sai Sudarshan came in to bat, the duo upped the ante and collected runs at will.
Gill hit Raza and Kagiso Rabada for a boundary and a maximum, both hit straight down the ground, the shot off Raza making for a pretty picture with the high backlift on the follow through.
Gill brought up his half-century, his first this season with a pull shot off Brar who bowled a ball that was there for the taking. He certainly fancies playing Punjab Kings as this was his 6th half-century against PBKS since 2019.
He made sure he didn't waste his good start and boosted Titans' total in the final few overs. He slammed Harshal's slower ball over long-on for a six before he hit Rabada for a six and a boundary in the 18th over.
Gill was unlucky to miss out on a century as he got the strike for just five deliveries in the last two overs with Rahul Tewatia scoring a quick 23. His 89 from 48 balls was largely instrumental in yanking Titans to 199 after they looked in danger of finishing well below that mark at one point.
Rahul Tewatia
Tewatia has a reputation of being a finisher and he lived up to it on Thursday.
Coming in to bat in the 18th over, Tewatia came out all guns blazing.
Wasting no time, in the 19th over, the left-hander gave Harshal a good hiding with a six and a four. He also ran the singles and twos quickly and along with Gill ran three off the last ball of the 19th over to take 20 runs off the pacer.
While Punjab resorted to bowling wide of the off-stump to Tewatia, he adjusted well by shuffling across and target the leg side boundary, as he finished the innings in great style with boundaries off the last two balls of the final over bowled by Arshdeep Singh.
Tewatia's cameo of 23 from eight balls provided Titans with the late spark as they scored 33 from the last two overs.
GT vs PBKS: Who Played The Best Knock?
Photographs: BCCI
