GUJARAT Titans are up and running in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. A second win on the trot for Hardik Pandya’s men as Delhi Capitals suffered a 14–run defeat against them.

The match was well balanced for the major part but Lockie Ferguson’s fiery spell proved to be the decisive factor. His four-for rattled DC’s batting order and sealed the win for Titans. Besides him, Shubman Gill also played a remarkable 84-run knock.

Earlier in the match, Delhi Capitals, who defeated Mumbai Indians in their opening fixture, won the toss and opted to bowl at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
Playing his first game of the season, Mustafizur Rahman made an immediate impact as he dismissed Matthew Wade in the first over. However, the other GT opener, Shubman Gill, was at his fluent best as he played some delightful shots early on.

Shubman Gill brought up his highest score in T20 cricket
While Vijay Shankar couldn’t contribute much, Gill found a substantial partner in skipper Hardik Pandya. The duo steadied the ship for Titans and played some delightful shots in the process. While Hardik fell prey to Khaleel Ahmed for 31, Gill notched up his maiden fifty of the season. He shifted gears after reaching the landmark and brought up his highest score in T20 cricket, 84.

David Miller and Rahul Tewatia played some handy shots towards the end as Titans posted 171-6 in their allotted 20 overs.
In reply, Capitals lost Tim Seifert in the very second over. While Prithvi Shaw and Mandeep Singh played some good shots, they were dismissed for 10 and 18 runs respectively. The onus was then on skipper Rishabh Pant to steady the ship.

The southpaw joined forces with Lalit Yadav and the duo added 61 runs for the fourth wicket. Just when the contest looked well in balance, Lalit was run-out amid a misunderstanding while running between the wickets. Nonetheless, Pant seemed like a man on a mission as his attractive shots kept the required run-rate under control.

However, he eventually fell prey to Lockie Ferguson, who took a four-for in the game. While Rovman Powell scored 20 runs, there was no contribution whatsoever from DC’s lower order.
The Capitals were eventually restricted to 157-9, losing the contest by 14 runs. (CricTracker .com)