Shashank, Ashutosh pull off stunning IPL heist for Punjab against Gujarat

It was unfolding as a memorable night for Gujarat Titans fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Their skipper Shubman Gill had found form and powered the team to a formidable total of 199/4. And Punjab Kings, in reply, were in all sorts of trouble at 73/4 after nine overs. It seemed as if the hosts would cruise to their third win in four games this IPL season.

But then came stunning knocks by Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma – two unheralded players – and the visitors ended up pulling off an unforgettable chase.

Shashank, who made 61 off 29 balls, had grabbed headlines during the IPL 2024 auction as PBKS tried to withdraw their bid for him. The franchise stated later on that they confused him with another Shashank Singh in the auction list and were always keen on making the bid for the former Shashank. Well, on Thursday, the player they nearly left out of their squad played a sensational knock to hand them two valuable points.

Asked to bat first, GT rode on an unbeaten 89 off 48 balls by Gill – the highest individual score so far this season – and were ahead for the majority of the contest. But Shashank's knock and a 17-ball 31 by Ashutosh saw Punjab complete the chase with three wickets and a ball to spare.

For PBKS to avoid a third successive defeat, it seemed a lot would depend on skipper Shikhar Dhawan in the chase. The left-hander had got scores of 70 and 45 in the previous two games but this time, he ended up chopping one on from Umesh Yadav in the second over. Jonny Bairstow (22 off 13) and Prabhsimran Singh (35 off 24) released some of the pressure with an aggressive partnership, but they were sent packing in quick succession by Noor Ahmad.

Needing 127 runs to win off 54 balls, Punjab had a mountain to climb. But that's when Shashank joined the party and turned the match on its head. The right-hander, who had played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the past, was aggressive from the start of his knock and went after both pace and spin.

Umesh Yadav was hit for 17 runs in the 11th over and despite Sam Curran and Sikandar Raza, who was replacing the injured Liam Livingstone, falling as well, Shashank never took a step back. Jitesh Sharma's eight-ball 16 kept the momentum going but once he was dismissed in the 16th over, PBKS still had quite a bit to do.

Mohit Sharma bowled a tidy over and Punjab were left needing 41 off 18 balls. That's when Ashutosh made his mark and hit Azmatullah Omarzai for three fours. Mohit, too, was not spared and taken for 18 runs in the penultimate over, before Shashank went on to close out a thrilling win.

In terms of Gujarat's bowling, star leg-spinner Rashid Khan had a forgettable night and returned with figures of 1/40.

"It was an amazing game," said Dhawan after the match. "We were keeping our cool and I'm glad the boys did the job. I feel the way Shashank played and hit those effortless sixes showed his class. It was a magnificent knock as he timed the ball so nicely. He finished the game, which is a very big thing. He has climbed up the batting order and is showing how strong his mindset it. Even Ashutosh came in and took the game away from Gujarat. It's great to see the young boys showing composure."

Earlier, Gill took it upon himself to anchor the GT innings. He added 29 runs for the opening partnership with Wriddhiman Saha before putting on a 40-run partnership with Kane Williamson, who was replacing David Miller and playing his first match of the season. Sai Sudharsan, in at No.4, provided a push with his 19-ball 33, but it came down to Gill's risk-free acceleration in the second half of the innings to put GT in a promising position.

After getting to 31 off 21 balls with the end of the 11th over, Gill opened up and went on to register a sixth half-century in his last nine innings against Punjab. That elegance, clean flow of the bat and sweet sound of the ball making contact were all on show. With the lower middle order lacking experience due to Miller's absence, Gill showed composure and took responsibility to bat till the end. Rahul Tewatia's unbeaten 23 off eight balls provided the final flourish.