R Sai Kishore performed brilliantly for the spinners as Gujarat Titans beat Kings XI Punjab by three wickets for their fourth win in the IPL 2024 at Mullanpur on Sunday. The spin trio of Sai Kishore (4/33), Rashid Khan (1/15) and Noor Ahmed (2/20) exposed the shenanigans of an ill-equipped Kings XI Punjab, bowling them out for a sub-par 142. Liam Livingstone, who juggled between leg-break and spin with ease, struck twice in mid-on to keep Kings XI Punjab alive in the match. However, he did not get much support from spinner Harpreet Brar, who leaked 35 runs in four overs in a low-scoring match.

Titans scored 42 runs off 30 balls and won comfortably by 19.1 overs, helped by Rahul Tewatia’s cameo to relieve the pressure (36 runs in 16 not out).

This was the fourth win in eight games for Gujarat Titans while Kings XI Punjab suffered their sixth defeat in eight games.

Shubman Gill (35 off 29) was in fine form at the top of the order but was undone by an ill-timed aerial knock from Livingstone. Sai Sudharsan (31 from 33 games) also found the stroke difficult, while the dangerous David Miller was Livingstone’s second victim.

Kings XI Punjab were able to apply pressure in the midfield but Tewatiya neutralized their threat with timely strikes through six boundaries.

Early on, Spin got enough help and Kings XI Punjab made the task easier for the visitors with his surrender of Sai Kishore.

Kings XI Punjab, one of the worst batting teams in the powerplay this season, got off to a great start and reached an unbeaten 45 runs in five overs.

However, their innings went downhill thereafter as the spin trio of Sai Kishore, Rashid and Noor exposed their opponents with their shenanigans.

Prabhsimran Singh (35 in 21 games) has struggled so far but found some much-needed rhythm before falling in the sixth round, sparking drama collapse.

Soon after guiding Mohit Sharma (2/32) for a third-man six, Prabhsimran rushed down the wicket only to be caught behind .

The spin trio then broke the backbone of Punjab’s batting. Left-arm spinner Sai Kishore, who has led Tamil Nadu to the Ranji Trophy semi-finals this season, has effectively changed his pace to cause problems for the opposition batsmen.

The pressure was maintained at the other end too through Noor and Rashid.

Noor’s first victim was Rilee Rossouw (9 off 7), who was trapped lbw while trying to sweep. Skipper Sam Curran (20 off 19) caught a ball off Rashid and was ruled LBW by DRS, surprising him and his opponents.

Livingstone (6 for 9) tried to push Noor smartly towards mid-wicket but the lead was taken by Rahul Tewatia who was stationed at the first slip.

Sai Kishore also got rid of the out-of-form Jitesh Sharma (13 off 12) to score 86 for 5 in the 12th over.

As has often been the case this season, the uncapped duo of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma were asked to shoulder the load, but this time their failure made matters worse for Punjab Oops.

The home team crossed the 140-run mark thanks to Harpreet Brar (29 off 12).

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