Punjab in the circle of defeats, an easy victory for Gujarat

Punjab Kings suffered their fourth consecutive loss in the IPL (Indian Premier League) 2024. The team now sits at the 9th position on the table. In Sunday night's match against Gujarat Titans, Punjab lost by 3 wickets. Opting to bat first after winning the toss, the team lost all wickets for 142 runs in the designated 20 overs. Gujarat had to chase down the target with minimal runs, and they managed to do so until the last over. They secured victory by losing only 7 wickets in 19.1 overs. Gujarat now occupies the 6th position on the table.

Gujarat's target seemed achievable, but they had to play until the last over to achieve it. They lost wickets regularly, with opener Wriddhiman Saha failing to provide an impressive batting performance. Shubman Gill and Sai Sudarshan both departed after playing thirty-odd innings.

David Miller and Azmatullah Omarzai couldn't perform well with the bat. However, Rahul Tewatia held one end firmly. His unbeaten innings of 38 runs off 18 balls ensured victory for Gujarat in the end.

For Punjab Kings, Harshal Patel was the most successful bowler, collecting 3 wickets.

Earlier, Punjab's solid start had raised hopes for a better outcome. However, after the dismissals of openers Sam Curran and Prabhsimran Singh, the team faced a setback. While Prabhsimran scored 35 runs, Curran managed 20 runs before returning to the pavilion.

Among the next five batters, only Jitesh Sharma could touch double digits. The rest succumbed to single-digit scores, returning to the pavilion in quick succession.

At one point, in the 16th over, Punjab was 99 for 7 wickets. At this juncture, Harpreet Singh and Harpreet Brar took up the responsibility of batting. Brar scored 29 runs off 12 balls, while Singh managed 14 runs off 19 balls before the innings concluded with Singh's dismissal in the last over.

For Gujarat Titans, Sai Kishore took 4 wickets single-handedly.