GT becomes the first team to seal their place in playoffs
Gujarat Titans became the first team to lock their spot in the playoffs of the 15th edition of IPL after registering a 62-run win against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.
After losing two consecutive matches GT have finally returned back to winning ways.
Gujarat opted to bat first after winning the toss, LSG bowlers restricted Gujarat to 144/4 but their batsmen failed and they were bowled out at a score of 83 in just 13.5 overs.
Rashid Khan starred with the ball by taking four wickets. Yash Dayal and debutant R Sai Kishore took two wickets each.
Opening batsman Shubman Gill smashed 63 off 49 balls with seven boundaries.
However, he lacked support from the other teammates and the team was not able to put a big score.
Avesh Khan scalped two wickets for his team. Mohsin Khan and Jason Holder picked up one wicket each.
Gujarat won 9 matches out of 12 and with 18 points are back to their favourite position of being table-toppers.
The defeat broke Lucknow'ss five-match winning streak. They are at second place with 16 points and need just a win to seal their top-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.
With back-to-back wickets falling from the start, LSG were unsuccessful in getting any momentum to their chase, reaching 58/4 at the halfway stage.
Deepak Hooda was the top scorer with a struggling 27 off 26 balls.
Gujarat too lost early wickets. With Wriddhiman Saha and Matthew Wade's dismissal inside five overs.
Gill took the onus on himself and upped the ante, first chopping Avesh to the square boundary and then reverse-swept Krunal Pandya to the third-man fence in the next over.
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.
Gill, on the other hand, went about his innings in a smooth fashion and brought up his fifty in 42 balls.
Rahul Tewatia too played his part by hammering three boundaries to take the score close to the 150.
(Inputs from PTI
