Washington Sundar Finishes It Off Gujarat Titans Beat Punjab Kings by 4 Wickets in a Match That Went Down to the Wire

Suryansh Shedge's stunning 57 off 29 balls rescued Punjab Kings from 47 for 5 to a fighting 163, but it was not enough as Sai Sudharsan's composed 57 and Washington Sundar's match-winning 40* off 23 guided Gujarat Titans home by 4 wickets off the second-last ball. Jason Holder's 4 for 24 was the bowling highlight of a match that kept 1.3 lakh fans on edge right until the very end.

Sunday evening at Narendra Modi Stadium and 1.3 lakh fans got exactly what they came for a match that nobody could call until the second-last ball was bowled.

Gujarat Titans chased down 164 with four wickets and one ball to spare. It was not clean. It was not comfortable. But it got the job done and in the end, that is all that matters in a tournament where every point counts.

Punjab Kings Bat First And Nearly Fall Apart

Punjab Kings won the toss and chose to bat. It looked like a good call for exactly three balls and then Jason Holder arrived.

The big West Indian swung the first over like a wrecking ball. Priyansh Arya gone for 2. Cooper Connolly gone for 0. Two wickets in the first over and Punjab Kings were staring at a scoreboard that read 2 for 2 before the crowd had even settled in their seats.

Kagiso Rabada joined in. Tight lines, swing both ways, not giving an inch. Prabhsimran Singh scratched out 15 before edging to slip. Shreyas Iyer Punjab's captain and their most experienced batter was bowled by Holder for 19. Nehal Wadhera came in, blocked six balls, scored zero, and walked back.

Punjab Kings were 47 for 5 in the eighth over. Match effectively over or so it seemed.

Then Suryansh Shedge walked in and tore up the script entirely.

Shedge Saves Punjab But Not Enough

The 22-year-old did not look at the scoreboard. Did not look at the required run rate. Did not look at the five wickets already gone. He just looked at the ball and hit it hard, clean, and repeatedly into the stands.

Five sixes. Two fours. Fifty-seven runs off just 29 balls. Strike rate of 196. He took Punjab Kings from a certain 120-all-out to a fighting 163 for 9 dragging his side back into a match they had no business being in after that collapse.

Marcus Stoinis supported him with a composed 40 off 31. Marco Jansen added a brisk 20 off 11 at the death. The last ten overs produced 116 runs a complete turnaround from the carnage of the first half.

Holder finished with 4 for 24. Outstanding figures. But despite his brilliance, Punjab still posted 163 a total that was always going to make for a tense chase on this surface.

GT Chase Sudharsan Builds, Washington Finishes

Sai Sudharsan opened and did what he always does batted with his head, not his ego. Fifty-seven runs off 41 balls. Patient when the situation needed patience, attacking when the situation demanded it. He was the spine of the entire chase and GT would not have got close without him.

Jos Buttler played a fluent 26 off 22 before being caught at mid-on. Nishant Sindhu chipped in with 15. Rahul Tewatia who has finished so many IPL chases over the years managed only 2 this time before being caught at deep square.

With five overs left and 40 needed, GT needed someone to step up. Washington Sundar stepped up.

Forty runs off 23 balls. Five fours, one six. He hit Arshdeep Singh through the covers, picked Jansen off his pads, and when the last over arrived with seven needed off six balls, he hit the second ball a full delivery from Stoinis straight back over mid-off for six.

Game over. GT home by four wickets with one ball remaining.

Scorecard

PBKS Innings — 163/9 (20 Overs)