Mumbai, May 3: Gujarat Titans (GT) knew they were not even close to par. They didn’t have a competitive total to defend. Punjab Kings (PBKS) not only beat the table-toppers by eight wickets and 24 balls to spare, but climbed up in the standings and boosted their net run rate in an IPL match here at DY Patil Sports Academy on Tuesday. Liam Livingstone, who thought he wouldn’t be needed to bat, displayed his power-hitting masterclass to finish off the match in 16 overs. The Englishman whacked Mohammed Shami for a hat-trick of sixes, one of which went 117 meters, and followed it with a boundary, double and again a boundary in his 10-ball 30 not out. Chasing the 144-run target, the match was set by Shikhar Dhawan (62 not out) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (40). The Kings batters added 87 runs together after the early dismissal of Jonny Bairstow (1). It was interesting to see skipper Mayank Agarwal, who is an opener, didn’t open the innings alongside Shikhar. For the Titans, Shami conceded 43 runs and picked one wicket in his four-over quota while Lockie Ferguson gave away 29 runs and picked one wicket in three overs. Earlier in the day, Sai Sudharsan’s hard-working innings of 65 not out off 50 dragged Titans to 143/8. Titans took a surprising call, opting to bat. And the move backfired as the team collapsed, thanks to Kagiso Rabada’s four-wicket haul. While the wickets kept on tumbling, Sudharsan put in hard yards to ensure his bowlers had something to defend. Kings struck early as Shubman Gill (9) fell short at the non-striker’s end. Gill pushed the ball to extra cover and set off but some miscommunication in the middle and Rishi Dhawan’s sensational fielding saw the back of Titans opener. Soon the other opener Wriddhiman Saha (21) became the victim of Rabada. Saha looked to go over mid-off but Mayank back-paddled to complete a superb catch. Rishi, Rabada and Livingstone rattled the middle order, including Titans skipper Hardik Pandya cheaply for one. On Rishi’s length ball, Pandya tried to drive but all he could manage was an outside edge which went into the hands of the keeper. Livingstone and Rabada then sent David Miller and Rahul Tewatia packing for 11 each. Arshdeep Singh also joined the party as he nailed a yorker to remove Pradeep Sangwan (2). (UNI)
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