AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Titans endured a few nervous moments but did just enough to notch up their third win on the bounce at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday.Chasing 164 and looking relatively comfortable following Sai Sudharsan’s (57), GT suddenly hit a roadblock in the 19th over. Arshdeep Singh bowled a brilliant 19th over taking Jason Holder’s wicket and conceding only six.Gujarat needed 12 in the last over, but Arshad Khan got a crucial boundary in the first ball of the 20th before Washington Sundar finished it off with a six off the fifth ball bowled by Marcus Stoinis. Washington (40* off 23 balls) proved to be the finisher that GT have lacked in recent times, even though the team management will hope that he comes up with a few more of the big hits as they push for a top-four berth.The win, though, was largely set up by the GT pacers Mohammed Siraj (2-28), Kagiso Rabada (2-22) and Jason Holder (4-24). The Titans’ new-ball bowlers delivered a bowling masterclass, the ideal good-length balls that batters hate facing.They reduced PBKS, the team with the highest Powerplay score this season, to 35/3 by the end of six overs. Only a promising half-century by Suryansh Shedge (57 off 29b; 3×4, 5×6) and his 79-run partnership with Stoinis (41 off 30b; 3×4, 1×6) took PBKS, invited to bat first, to 163/9.GT’s Test-match specialists Siraj and Rabada didn’t deliver the fuller-length, driveable balls, but resorted to good-length deliveries. And with a little bit of help from the surface, they kept beating the outside edge of the batters.Siraj had opener Priyansh Arya caught. Arya’s cut shot off a bouncing delivery was held at third man by GT debutant Nishant Sindhu, who replaced M Shahrukh Khan. Next ball, Australian southpaw Cooper Connolly feathered an inside edge to a good length ball. Prabhsimran Singh (15) tried to resurrect the innings in company of his captain Shreyas Iyer.But an attempted forceful shot off Rabada saw him getting caught at cover. Out-of-form Nehal Wadhera edged to Buttler off Holder before the West Indian had Iyer chopping on to his stumps off a ball that jagged in after pitching.BRIEF SCORES: GT 167/6 in 19.5 overs (Sai Sudharsan 57, Washington Sundar 40*; Arshdeep Singh 2/24, Vijaykumar Vyshak 2/31) beat PBKS 162/9 (Suryansh Shedge 57; Jason Holder 4/24, Kagiso Rabada 2/22, Mohammed Siraj 2/28)
