For, whenever Gujarat Titans seemed to tighten their grip over the contest, Punjab would strike. After Shubman Gill’s exit for 16, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler, with a 51-run stand, allayed Titans’ fears of a power-play wobble.

But Buttler’s exit, with the total score on 69, triggered panic. Nishant Sindhu flayed the nerves of a debutant and eked out only 15 runs off 11 balls.

But Sudharsan offered peace and calm. Post timeout, with the requirement shooting to an uncomfortable 61 off 42 balls, Sudharsan slashed the equation by pummelling Yuzvendra Chahal for a couple of fours. Sundar’s lofted-driven four of Vijayakumar Vyshak reduced the gap further, but in tune with the cat-and-mouse nature of the chase, Vyshak ejected Sudharsan with a shortish ball, exposing his locked shoulders that hinder the uncluttered flow of the bat.

A four-run over from Xavier Bartlett put the match on a knife-edge, only for Washington to reclaim Titans’ supremacy with back-to-back fours off Marco Jansen. But Punjab kept fighting back; Jansen’s short-ball removed Rahul Tewatia, the Impact Sub.

Suddenly, the match was on an even keel, with 17 wanted from 12 balls. But Punjab’s best bowlers had exhausted their quota. Jason Holder and Washington knew this, and without fuss gathered five runs off the first four balls. Then ambition seized Holder, he aimed Arshdeep Singh over mid-wicket, but mistimed the shot to Cooper Connolly.

But Washington kept more twists away.

Three horsemen and apocalypse

The skid and swerve of Mohammed Siraj; the pace and spunk of Kagiso Rabada; the bounce and late deviations of Jason Holder—Gujarat Titans have torn the staple blueprints of franchises and have rattled batsmen through the orthodox paths of unleashing classical Test bowlers and their frightening red-ball lengths.

All they need is a smidgeon of assistance from the surface. The Motera surface usually conspires seam movement with the new ball.

Siraj obliged gleefully. But before his fuller length made batsmen flail this way and that, he deceived Priyansh Arya with a clever deployment of the hard-length ball. He hustled him into a top-edged pull that evaded the rushing Buttler, but the next ball, on a similar length, pitched wider and had him flaying. An ounce of movement away from his and the left-hander feebly slices the ball to the lunging hands of Nishant Sindhu at backward point.

His next ball was designed in fast bowling heaven. The good-length ball to the left-handed Cooper Connolly seemed to slant away, before it came back a wee bit to kiss the inside edge of his bat. He had both Shreyas Iyer and Prabhsimran Singh stab unconvincingly outside the off-stump, but they survived his seam onslaught. Not for too long, though.

The swing from the surface seemed to wane. Shreyas and Prabhsimran crunched themselves to four-splashed stars. But with the second ball of the last powerplay over, Rabada stung with his heavy ball. The hard-length ball crashed into Prabhsimran’s bat, which was halfway through a cover drive. But the ball trembled off the splice to the cover fielder. The speed gun read 152 kph. A similar heat-seeker nailed Suryansh Shedge, the top scorer with a punchy 57. Shedge, fresh from plundering 26 runs from a Manav Suthar over, tried to glide his short ball through third man, but for the extra bounce to defeat his purpose and edge to the keeper.

Punjab had Shedge, Marcus Stoinis and their 73-run stand for a rearguard. They united when they were quivering at 47 for 5 after Holder had removed Nehal Wadhera and figurehead Iyer. The latter chopped on, a typical Holder dismissal. Batsmen often gauge the bounce from an almost seven-feet-high release. But they discount his subtle, late seam movement. The ball came in a tad, making it too close for Iyer to run it down the third man. He undid Wadhera with a late away-nibbler.

The triumvirate made for a glorious sight, each different from the other, each with common as well as unique traits. Good things, they say, don’t often come in three. But for the Titans, it does.

Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 163 /9 in 20 overs (Shedge 57, Stoinis 40; Holder 4/24) lost to GT 167 /6 in 19.5 overs (Sudharsan 57, Washington 40 not out; Arshdeep 2/24) by four wickets.