Afghanistan's Rashid Khan claimed four wickets as Gujarat Titans became the first team to qualify for the IPL play-offs with a 62-run thrashing of Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.
Indian opener Shubman Gill made 63 off 49 deliveries to steer Gujarat to 144 for four after electing to bat first on what seemed like a tough pitch to score in Pune.
Rashid then returned figures of 4-24 with his leg spin to dismiss the opposition for 82 in 13.5 overs as Gujarat, in their debut season, bounced back from two losses to top the 10-team IPL.
Gujarat, led by Hardik Pandya, climb to the top of the table while Lucknow slip to second but still in with a strong chance of making the play-offs.
Gill set up victory after he lifted Gujarat from 51-3 to build key partnerships including a 52-run fourth-wicket stand with David Miller (26) and 41 unbroken for the fifth with Rahul Tewatia (22 not out).
Mohsin Khan had removed opener Wriddhiman Saha for five before Avesh Khan caused further trouble by sending back Australia's Matthew Wade, for 10, and Hardik, for 11.
Gill hit seven boundaries in his 49-ball stay and Miller hit the only six of the innings to guide Gujarat to a total that looked under-par but proved enough for victory.
Lucknow made a mess of their tricky chase after they fell to 33-3 with opener Quinton de Kock (11) and skipper KL Rahul (eight) back in the dug out.
Wickets kept tumbling and Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis was out after a mix up with Deepak Hooda who made a valiant 27 before falling to Rashid's leg-spin.
(Published 10 May 2022, 18:52 IST)
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