GT vs MI IPL 2023 emotional rollercoaster: Arjun snares Saha, Gill goes after Green & Abhinav hammers Chawla

Wriddhiman Saha had attempted a pull on the fifth ball of Arjun Tendulkar’s first over – a shortish delivery on the offstump, and not connected. Playing his 151st game, Saha scratched about the next delivery to point, but the over fetched just 4 runs. It was the pull again that Saha would try as Tendulkar bowled the first one of his second over, drifting down leg slightly short. But once again he couldn’t quite get the pull going, and Ishan Kishan would go for an appeal immediately, given Out by the umpire. Saha would go for a review after a long chat with Shubman Gill, but Ultraedge judged it whiffing the glove. Titans had lost an early wicket for the fourth time.

Getting stuck into Green

Shubman Gill got stuck into seamer Cameron Green and collected 15 off his first over. Gill had welcomed Riley Meredith with a lofted shot over deep point, but he truly went after Green in the next over. Green bowled it short and was dispatched over midwicket first, next one was swerving into leg, but Gill made room for himself and slashed it away to the covers. The next one went maximum, slammed over long-on after it was pitched on middle. Piyush Chawla’s first delivery of the over a few minutes later saw Gill take two steps down and whack it over extra cover. It was the Green over though that proved costly. Gill would reach 49 slamming Kumar Karthikeya over deep midwicket.

Abhinav takes on Chawla

Emboldened by the wickets of Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar, wherein he tossed it up and bowled full into the slot, Piyush Chawla bowled similar one to Abhinav Manohar. Flighted outside off, Chawla would try baiting Manohar, but the batter would bludgeon it back over the bowler for a 95m maximum. Three balls earlier, Manohar had driven him over cover after thwacking him to the cover fence off the first ball. Chawla who was 2/17 after the third over, suddenly had his figures mashed up to 2/34 to complete a mixed bag spell.

Cramped by Shami, bowled Rashid

Mohammed Shami cramped Ishan Kishan, and Rashid Khan turned the knife in. Facing 13 deliveries from the India pacer, Kishan had 7 dot balls as he was repeatedly beaten outside off. A swipe over midwicket might’ve felt like breaking the shackles, but though he ran a couple of singles more, the pressure was building. So when Rashid Khan came along, bowled it short on off, Kishan went for a grossly mistimed pull, and the top edge was collected by Josh Little. It ended his wretched stay for 13 off 21 deliveries.

-Shivani Naik