Gujarat Titans spinner R Sai Kishore credited head coach Ashish Nehra for creating a fearless team environment that inspired three-wicket victory over Punjab Kings in Mullanpur. Kishore, whose 4/33 set up the win, said Nehra has fostered a beautiful team culture. The spin trio of Kishore, Rashid Khan (1/15), and Noor Ahmad (2/20) exposed Punjab’s limitations, dismissing them for a subpar 142.

Liam Livingstone, who switches between bowling leg-breaks and off-spin, took two crucial wickets in the middle overs to keep the home team’s hopes alive in the match. However, the Titans played smartly.

GT recorded a comfortable victory over Punjab Kings in 19.1 overs. Rahul Tewatia provided a much vital cameo, scoring 36 runs off 16 balls to help Gujarat.

“I returned to playing after a 20-25 day break, so I just wanted to go out there, and give it my all. Coach Ashish Nehra has created a wonderful team environment where we can play fearlessly for each other. He encouraged me to enjoy myself on the field,” Sai Kishore said in the post-match presentation.

Captain Shubman Gill opined that the team should have won the match well before the 20th over. “Could’ve finished the game earlier, but feels great to win and get those 2 points.”

Regarding his new position as captain, the young batter said he can easily differentiate between the leadership role and batting.

“To get the chance to take on this role has been incredibly exciting for me. I play like a batter when I’m batting,” Gill remarked.

Sam Curran, the interim captain for the Kings, acknowledged that 165 would have been the perfect score on that Mullanpur pitch. The hosts scored 142.

“The team displayed amazing fight, and the effort with the ball was superb. But victory wasn’t supposed to happen again. Sai Kishore bowled extremely well, and they (GT) have some elite spinners,” Curran said.

“I felt that we were close to scoring, but ultimately, they prevailed. A score of 160–165 would have been difficult. I believed that we gave ourselves a chance with the way we bowled. We lost wickets in bunches,” Curran added.

GT will try to keep up the momentum when they play the Delhi Capitals on April 24.

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