Jason holder stood out with figures of 4-24 in an inspired pace attack to set up a four-wicket win for Gujarat Titans in a thrilling IPL contest against Punjab Kings on Sunday.
Gujarat Titans' Jason Holder celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Punjab Kings' captain Shreyas Iyer. Photos by AFP
Pace spearhead Mohammed Siraj set the tone with two wickets in the first over of the match as hosts Gujarat reduced top of the table Punjab to 47-5 before they managed 163-9 in Ahmedabad.
Gujarat also suffered from regular wickets in their chase but opener Sai Sudharsan's 57 and an unbeaten 40 off 23 balls by Washington Sundar guided the team home with one ball to spare.
Needing 11 to win from the last over, Sundar, a left-handed batter, kept his nerve and smacked Marcus Stoinis for a winning six on the penultimate delivery.
Shubman Gill-led Gujarat stay fifth in the 10-team table with four teams on 12 points each.
Punjab, led by Shreyas Iyer, still hold the top spot with 13 points after they went down to just their second defeat in the season.
Top four teams after the league stage will qualify for the playoffs.
Punjab attempted to defend their modest total after impact substitute Vijaykumar Vyshak took 2-30 including Jos Buttler, for 25, and the left-handed Sudharsan in the 15th over.
Gujarat slowed down in their chase in front of disciplined bowling and good fielding, but Sundar stood firm
Earlier Siraj rattled Punjab with two wickets in two balls upfront including Cooper Connolly caught behind for a duck.
Siraj's new-ball partner Kagiso Rabada took down Prabhsimran Singh for 15 and West Indies pace bowler Holder came in as the third seamer to push Punjab on the backfoot.
Holder dismissed Nehal Wadhera and then Iyer but Marcus Stoinis, who made 40, and Suryansh Hedge, who hit 57, put on a defiant stand of 79 off 44 balls.
Shedge was impressive in his 29-ball blitz laced with three fours and five sixes and got good support from Australia's Stoinis.
Marco Jansen contributed with 20 to boost the total but it was not enough to stop Gujarat from winning on their home turf.
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