PBKS vs GT, Last Match Scorecard: Highlights and Results

Match 18 of the ongoing Indian Premier League season (IPL 2023) will see the Punjab Kings (PBKS) take on the Gujarat Titans (GT). The highly anticipated encounter will be played at the PCA IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Thursday, April 13.

Having won two of their three games so far, PBKS are currently sixth in the IPL 2023 points table. They suffered their only defeat of the season in their last game against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).

After being put into bat first by the hosts, the Punjab batters endured a rocky start as they kept losing wickets at regular junctures. SRH pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen and Umran Malik claimed five wickets between them, while Mayank Markande bowled superbly for his four-wicket haul.

In an innings where only two Punjab batters managed to score double-digit scores, the only shining light for was a remarkable innings from Shikhar Dhawan.

The PBKS skipper, who opened the innings, batted throughout the 20 overs and remained unbeaten on 99 off 66 balls. Dhawan accumulated almost 70% of his team's total as Punjab scored just 143 runs in the first innings.

The PBKS bowlers started well in the second innings to give their fans some hope. They kept SRH down to 45/2 in 8.3 overs, dismissing their openers Harry Brook and Mayank Agarwal.

Rahul Tripathi then launched an attack, scoring 74 runs off just 48 deliveries. Tripathi whacked ten fours and three sixes to help SRH win the match by eight wickets. Skipper Aiden Markram also remained unbeaten on 37 from 21 balls as the duo secured Hyderabad's first win of IPL 2023.

Scorecard of GT from their last IPL 2023 game

Similar to PBKS, GT will also enter Thursday night's game on the back of a defeat against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday, April 9.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first in an evening game in Ahmedabad, GT, who were without captain Hardik Pandya, posted an imposing 204/4 in 20 overs.

Openers Wriddhiman Saha (17) and Shubman Gill (39) started decently but failed to convert their starts. No. 3 batter B Sai Sudharsan, however, continued his great form and scored third IPL fifty, scoring 53 in 38 balls.

Vijay Shankar then provided GT with some much-needed impetus in the end, smashing four boundaries and five maximums to record an IPL career-best 63 not out. Shankar took just 24 balls for his splendid knock that took the Titans' total to over 200.

The chase was always going to be an arduous task for the Kolkata franchise. However, KKR got over the line in the most exhilarating fashion.

After enduring a rocky start, Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana joined forces to steady the ship for Kolkata. The two left-handers put on 100 runs for the third wicket, with Iyer scoring his IPL-best 83 and Nitish registering 45 runs.

Bowling scorecard of GT from their last game vs KKR [Sportskeeda]

The game turned in GT's favor once again when Rashid Khan inflicted the first hat-trick of IPL 2023. The all-rounder dismissed Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Shardul Thakur off three consecutive balls to turn the game on its head.

The match seemed to be done and dusted for KKR with 38 more runs needed off just eight deliveries. GT may have thought that they would win the match but Rinku Singh had other plans.

Closing out the 19th over with a six and a boundary, Rinku had the outrageous task of needing to get 28 runs from the final five balls to win his side the game. However, the southpaw remained imperturbed and did the unthinkable.

He clobbered Yash Dayal for five consecutive maximums to script a remarkable run-chase for KKR.

After their gut-wrenching loss in Ahmedabad, GT will aim to bounce back against Punjab and record their second away win in IPL 2023. PBKS, meanwhile, will hope their batters can provide more support for Shikhar Dhawan as they look to get back to winning ways themselves.