Gill faces backlash for gifting his wicket to Punjab Kings

Gujarat Titans were only 143 runs short of victory in the IPL 2024 match against Punjab Kings. However, the visitors were unconvincing and only managed a three-wicket win. Captain Shubman Gill, who played a reckless shot to give away his wicket to PBKS, was to blame for the poor chase. According to Harbhajan Singh, there was no need for the shot.

He was caught by Kagiso Rabada off a Liam Livingstone delivery. The right-handed batsman scored 35 runs off 29 balls with the help of 5 fours. Apart from him, Sai Sudharsan made 31. Rahul Tewatia's 36 not out sealed the match in Gujarat's favour.

Harbhajan Singh stated on Star Sports:

“What was the need of that shot? Shubman Gill will have to understand the importance of his wicket. You can’t just come and throw away your wicket to put your team into trouble. The chase should have been easy, but the GT batters’ mistake took the game deep. It is high time Gujarat worked on their weakness.”

Earlier, Sai Kishore (4 wickets), Noor Ahmed (2 wickets) and Rashid Khan (1 wicket) broke Punjab's back as the hosts were bowled out for 142 runs in their 20 overs. None of their batsmen crossed the 50-run mark.

It was a similar story for Gujarat, who were chasing 143 for their fourth win in 17 matches, but the target was never big enough to challenge them. Punjab's stand-in captain Sam Curran admitted that his side was 20 to 25 runs short of their target.