'Remember the name' - Rahul Tewatia's unanticipated cameo hands PBKS heartbreaking defeat

Agony, ecstasy, heart-breaks, and high-voltage drama were on display during Gujarat Titans’ six-wicket victory over Punjab Kings. The game went right down to the wire and PBKS’ win looked certainty as GT needed two sixes off the final two balls. The on-strike batter was Rahul Tewatia, who arrived in the very last over. The southpaw defied the expectations and smashed Odean Smith for two big hits as the Titans recorded their third successive win in IPL 2022. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill, who scored 96 off 59 balls, was the chief architect of Gujarat’s triumph.

Earlier in the match, Gujarat Titans won the toss and opted to bowl at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. PBKS got off to a horrendous start with Hardik Pandya dismissing his counterpart Mayank Agarwal in the very second over. Playing his first game of the season, Jonny Bairstow couldn’t do much either and was dismissed for eight. Then arrived Liam Livingstone at number four and joined forces with Shikhar Dhawan.

While Shikhar Dhawan was watchful, Livingstone was at his destructive best as he slammed yet another fifty this season. After Dhawan’s exit, the England international found another substantial partner in Jitesh Sharma, who also played some delightful shots. At 124/3 in 13 overs, PBKS were advancing towards a formidable total.

However, Darshan Nalkande and Rashid Khan applied the brakes on the scoring rate with some sensational bowling in the latter half of the innings. Once Livingstone was dismissed for a 27-ball 64, the rest of the line-up fell like a pack of cards. Rahul Chahar, nevertheless, came to the party as his 14-ball 22 helped Punjab post 189/9 in their allotted 20 overs.

Shubman Gill recorded his highest score in IPL

In reply, GT faced an early blow with Matthew Wade managing just six runs. However, Shubman Gill joined forces with debutant Sai Sudharsan. While Gill was the aggressor and scored runs for the fun, Sudharsan took the back seat and complimented the opener well. The duo added 101 runs for the second wicket before Sudharsan departed at a personal score of 35.

Gill was then joined by skipper Hardik Pandya and things still looked ideal for the Titans. However, some sensational death bowling from PBKS bowlers choked the flow of runs and the required run rate went up. PBKS tightened their grip even further when Shubman Gill fell prey to Kagiso Rabada for a brilliant 96.

The equation eventually boiled down to GT needing 12 runs off two balls and Rahul Tewatia being the batter on strike. The southpaw, who arrived in the very last over, defied expectations and smashed Odean Smith for two consecutive sixes as the Titans clinched the contest by six wickets.

Meanwhile, let’s look at how Twitter reacted to the nail-biting clash: