Tewatia hits 2 sixes in 2 balls as Gujarat Titans beat Punjab Kings in thriller

Gujarat Titans batter Rahul Tewatia struck two sixes on the last two deliveries of the match off Odean Smith to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Punjab Kings in a thrilling encounter of the IPL 2022 here on FridayWith 12 needed off the last two balls Tewatia blasted two sixes at the Brabourne Stadium here to seal a sixwicket win for the TitansFrom 21 of nine deliveries to 18 off the last five Tewatia and David Miller brought it to 13 off three balls when Miller scrambled for a single leaving Tewatia the unenviable task of hitting two sixes off the last two deliveries of the match and win it for Gujarat Titans who successfully chased a target of 190The 28yearold seasoned campaigner who has played for Kings XI Punjab the previous avatar of Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in the IPL obliged brilliantly carting Smith just over the deep midwicket with the fielder nearly catching him before falling over the rope and then slog sweeping the final delivery over the longon boundary to seal a memorable victory for Gujarat TitansChasing a target of 190 Gujarat looked cruising to victory with opener Shubman Gill and skipper Hardik Pandya leading the charge But both got out at the most inappropriate time Gill just four short of his century and Pandya run out of the first ball of the final over with Gujarat 4172It looked like the match had slipped out of their hands but then Tewatia intervened so brilliantlyGujarat will have to thank opener Shubman Gill 96 59b 11x4 1x6 Sai Sudharshan 35 30b 4x4 1x6 and Pandya 27 18b 5x4 for putting them in a position where they could chase Punjab Kings 1899 reached thanks to a 27ball 64 by Liam Livingstone who struck his second successive halfcenturyLivingstone came in to bat with PBKS struggling at 342 and then raised 52 runs for the third wicket with opener Shikhar Dhawan 35 30b 4x4 Dhawan who did not look his usual assured self greeted Lockie Ferguson with two successive boundaries in his first two deliveries of the night the first lofted over midwicket and the second bisecting the covers He was out with the score at 863 and PBKS still not out of the woodsLivingstone then found a good ally in Jitesh Sharma as they took PBKS to safety at 1244 He went on to complete his halfcentury off 21 balls hammering debutant Darshan Nalkande for a six and four in one over and striking him for two successive fours in another over It was his second successive halfcentury in IPL to help PBKS recoverThe Englishman had struck 60 against Chennai Super Kings in their previous match which helped them to their second winPunjab Kings lost their way a bit in the middle overs as Jitesh Sharma 23 of 11 balls and Odean Smith 0 were out off successive deliveries off a Nalkandes third over Though Shah Rukh Khan avoided the hattrick he too did not last long trapped lbw by Rashid Khan Rahul Chahar and Arshdeep Singh landed a few lusty blows to take them to 1899But in the end that proved insufficient as Tewatia snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for Gujarat TitansBrief scores Punjab Kings 1899 in 20 overs Shikhar Dhawan 35 Liam Livingstone 64 Rahul Chahar 22 not out Rashid Khan 322 Darshan Nalkande 237 lost to Gujarat Titans 1904 in 20 overs Shubman Gill 96 Sai Sudarshan 35 Rahul Tewatia 13 not out Kagiso Rabada 235