Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were involved in a low-scoring thriller at the Ekana Sports City Stadium in Lucknow. The Hardik Pandya led Gujarat side eventually held their nerves and won the game by 7 runs.
The entire bulk of the action of the game took place in the final over, which was bowled by Mohit Sharma. Lucknow slipped on a banana peel and lost 4 wickets in 4 balls and this was probably one of the most severe heists in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
Lucknow would be heavily disappointed with this loss as throughout the game it was Lucknow who were on the driving seat.
In this article, we take a look at 3 talking points of this GT vs LSG game in IPL 2023 at the Ekana Sports City Stadium:
1. Mohit Sharma’s tight last over
No one would have imagined that Gujarat could walk away with the honours of this game. 12 runs were needed in the final over and Lucknow had 7 wickets in hands with the in-form KL Rahul on the crease.
But Mohit Sharma conjured magic and first, dismissed KL Rahul. He then struck again by taking the wicket of David Miller. As fate had it, Lucknow had 2 more run outs and then the game tilted in favour of Gujarat,
2. Skipper Hardik Pandya’s statement with the bat
Hardik Pandya was being criticized for his poor outings with the bat in IPL 2023. However, he decided to take things into his own hands in this game. Pandya mustered 66 runs in 30 balls and smashed 4 sixes and 2 fours in his innings.
This was a statement innings from Hardik and he sent out a message that he was back in form. This bodes well for Gujarat and they would be banking on their talented skipper in the rest of the tournament.
3. Krunal Pandya continues his glorious run with the ball
Krunal Pandya’s exceptional run with the ball continued as he bagged 2 wickets and conceded runs at an economy of only 4. He dismissed the openers of LSG in the form of Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill. He stopped the run flow of Gujarat in the 1st innings at Ahmedabad.
The older Pandya brother also scored 23 runs with the bat and was looking solid during his stay. Pandya now has 6 wickets from 7 games in IPL 2023 and is a star performer for KL Rahul.
