Rashid’s roar puts Gujarat in playoffs

Gujarat Titans returned to winning ways after back-to-back losses and became the first team to seal their place in the play-offs by defeating Lucknow Super Giants by 62 runs in an Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday.

Even though LSG did a decent job with the ball to restrict GT to 144 for 4 after being asked to bowl, the KL Rahul-led side flopped with the bat as they were bowled out for 82 in 13.5 overs. Rashid Khan (4/24) starred with the ball for GT, while Yash Dayal (2/24) and R Sai Kishore (2/7) picked up two wickets each.

Earlier, opening batter Shubman Gill hit a fine half-century but LSG produced a disciplined bowling effort to restrict GT to the modest score. Gill remained not out on 63 off 49 balls with the help of seven fours but lacked support from the other end.

He was left stranded as GT’s next highest scorer was David Miller (26). Avesh Khan (2/26) picked up two wickets for LSG, while Mohsin Khan (1/18) and Jason Holder (1/44) scalped one apiece. GT sealed their play-off berth, reaching 18 points from 12 games.

The defeat snapped LSG’s five-match winning streak but they are still comfortably placed in the second spot with 16 points and need just a win to book their last-four berth. LSG made a slow start to their chase and their problems were further compounded after they lost Quinton de Kock (11) and skipper KL Rahul (8) in consecutive overs to slump to 24 for 2 after four overs.

While Yash Dayal accounted for De Kock, Rahul top-edged a Mohammed Shami short delivery to Wriddhiman Saha behind the stumps. Introduced into the attack in the eighth over, Rashid Khan struck with his third delivery, foxing Krunal Pandya with a googly and Saha was quick to whip off the bails. With wickets falling in quick succession from the start, LSG never got any momentum to their chase, reaching 58 for 4 at the halfway stage.

The ever-rising asking rate led to the downfall of Ayush Badoni (8), who was stumped by Saha off R Sai Kishore. LSG’s scorecard cut a sorry figure as the likes of Marcus Stoinis (2) and Jason Holder (1) too failed to rise to the occasion.

Deepak Hooda top-scored for LSG with a struggling 26-ball 27. Earlier, GT’s decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired big time as they lost Wriddhiman Saha (5) and Matthew Wade (10) cheaply with the scoreboard reading just 24 inside five overs.

With wickets tumbling from the other end, Gill went about his business cautiously and in the company of skipper Hardik Pandya shared 27 runs for the third wicket before the latter departed, edging one to Quinton de Kock behind the stumps to give Avesh his second wicket of the day.

But thereafter, both Gill and Miller failed to open their arms as Mohsin and Krunal bowled tight line and length to stem the run flow. Rahul Tewatia (22 not out off 16 balls) used the long handle to good effect in the final over, smashing Holder for three boundaries to take the score close to the 150-run mark. LSG fall short by 62 runs despite chasing modest-looking 144.

Brief scores: Gujarat Titans 144/4 (Shubman Gill 63; LSG bowling: Avesh Khan 2-26) beat Lucknow Super Giants 82 all out in 13.5 overs (GT bowling: Rashid Khan 4-24) by 62 runs