When an aggressive batting line-up like that of Punjab Kings gets restricted to hitting only seven sixes in their innings, it goes on to reflect how well their opponents bowled. The Gujarat Titans bowlers, led by seamer all-rounder Jason Holder (4/24), deserve all the credit for limiting the Kings to 163/9, laying the foundation for their four-wicket victory at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

The Ahmedabad pitch aided strokeplay and also had purchase for the quicks, keeping them in the game right through.

The likes of Arshdeep Singh, Impact Player Vijaykumar Vyshak and Marco Jansen took the contest closer with their respective strikes, before Washington Sundar (40 not out off 23 balls) sealed the game for the Titans off with a six as Marcus Stoinis failed to execute his yorker off the penultimate delivery.

After Arshdeep had Holder holing out at the deep, the Titans needed 11 off the final over. But Stoinis began with a wide and got his execution wrong as the Titans reached home with a ball to spare, registering their third straight victory. For the Kings, this was the second consecutive loss.

For the Titans, Sai Sudharsan (57 off 41 balls) was their top scorer.

Penetration at its best

Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada had set it up for the Titans after they opted to bowl first. The duo reduced the Kings to 35/3 in the Powerplay and then Holder’s arrival led to the departure of both Impact Player Nehal Wadhera and Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer in the ninth over.

Wadhera and Shreyas were both bamboozled by length and a bit of movement.

Right through his spells, Holder, looking to make a comeback in Test cricket, focused on the back-of-a-length stuff and also looked to shape the ball in towards the right-handers.

It was only when Holder and the other quicks were away that Suryansh Shedge (57 off 29 balls) and Stoinis tried to maximise the scoring opportunities during their 79-run sixth-wicket stand. Shedge alone smashed five of the seven sixes in the Kings innings on way to his maiden IPL fifty.

But, given the damage caused earlier by Holder, it was extremely tough for the Kings to stage much of a recovery.