GT huff and puff in chase after bowlers shine

PBKS brought their never-say-die attitude to Ahmedabad but this Sunday evening proceeded to consume a second high-flying team of the season after SRH's humbling earlier in the day. PBKS suffered a rare batting blip as GT kept them to 163/9 – modest both by their and the season's standards. Yet GT had to huff and puff all the way till the final over to get over the line, via a Washington Sundar six.

Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 163/9 in 20 overs (Suryansh Shedge 57, Marcus Stoinis 40; Jason Holder 4-24, Kagiso Rabada 2-22, Mohammed Siraj 2-28) lost to Gujarat Titans 167/6 in 19.5 overs (Sai Sudharsan 57, Washington Sundar 40*; Arshdeep Singh 2-24, Vijaykumar Vyshak 2-31) by 6 wickets

What was that at the start?

Mayhem, and not the kind PBKS usually inflict on others. Priyansh Arya survived a streaky top-edge on the first ball, but ended up slashing the next short ball towards deep backward point where debutant Nishant Sindhu took a sharp catch. Cooper Connolly walked off first ball – with a review in tow, as Mohammed Siraj got a length delivery to jag back and take a faint edge to Jos Buttler. Kagiso Rabada tormented Prabhsimran Singh, eventually having him caught in the sixth over for 15 off 14. Shreyas Iyer dragged PBKS to 35/3 in the Powerplay.

What awaited them on the other side?

Jason Holder dismissed Nehal Wadhera and then Shreyas played one onto the stumps. PBKS lost five wickets before they even scored 50 runs. Their 51/5 in 10 overs was the fourth-lowest total at the halfway stage in IPL 2026.

Who brought the turnaround?

Suryansh Shedge hit the first six of the innings off Arshad Khan, then went after Manav Suthar – three sixes and two fours in a 27-run over helped drag the team past 100 in 14 overs. He brought up his maiden IPL fifty off 24 deliveries.

Did GT pull back at the death?

Rabada dismissed Shedge and Holder bowled a double-wicket over to remove Stoinis and Bartlett. For four overs at the death, GT gave away just 8, 8, 7 and 8 runs. The final over brought a showdown between Marco Jansen and Rashid Khan, where Jansen tonked a straight six before being dismissed.

The casual start to chase…

Arshdeep Singh removed Shubman Gill early but Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler got GT to 58/1 at the end of the Powerplay. Vijaykumar Vyshak dismissed Buttler in the ninth over. When Nishant Sindhu tonked Vyshak for a six, it was GT's first boundary in 28 balls. Marcus Stoinis took out Sindhu in the 12th over.

Why the delay for Chahal?

PBKS avoided unleashing Yuzvendra Chahal against left-handers. GT sent one left-hander after another. Washington Sundar joined Sudharsan with the equation at 61 off 42. Sudharsan picked a couple of fours off Chahal but was dismissed by Vyshak in the 15th over.

GT needed 40 off 30 balls. Bartlett bowled a stunning four-run over, leaving 36 off four. Sundar eased pressure with two boundaries off Jansen – one an outside edge to third man and another a scoop over short fine. Tewatia went straight to deep square leg, bringing Jason Holder in.

Bartlett conceded a four to Sundar but only three came off the next five deliveries. Arshdeep returned with 17 to defend from 12 balls. He nailed his lengths, getting Holder to swing towards mid-wicket where Connolly took an excellent diving catch at the fence.

With 11 to defend, Marcus Stoinis started the final over poorly. The equation became 4 off 4, then 3 off 2. Stoinis missed his yorker and Sundar scooped a full-toss over deep backward square for the only six of the death overs.

PBKS travel to Hyderabad to face SRH on May 6. GT head to Jaipur to face RR on May 9.