Gujarat beats Lucknow by 7 wickets in IPL ahead of Kohli's Bengaluru vs. Sharma's Mumbai

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LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Prasidh Krishna took 4-28, followed by half-centuries from Jos Buttler and Shubman Gill, as Gujarat Titans comfortably beat Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.

Krishna’s spell helped to restrict Lucknow to 164-8 in 20 overs on its home turf. Buttler (60 runs off 37 balls) and skipper Gill (56 off 40) propelled the chase as Gujarat finished with 165-3 in 18.4 overs.

Gujarat moved to fifth in the standings with two wins in four games. It was a second loss for Lucknow, which is sixth behind Gujarat on run-rate.

In Sunday’s other game, Indian superstars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli face off as five-time champions Mumbai Indians hosts defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the iconic Wankhede Stadium.

Chasing 165, Gujarat opener Sai Sudharsan was caught off leg spinner Digvesh Rathi for 15 at the start of the sixth over.

That brought Buttler and Gill together at 45-1. The pair put on 84 off 58 balls for the second wicket as Lucknow was eased out of the game.

Buttler, who hit 52 against Delhi Capitals in the previous game, got his 50 off 29 balls with nine fours. His innings saw Buttler reach 14,000 career T20 runs.

Gill reached 50 off 34 balls – his second of the season after scoring 70 against Delhi.

Both were dismissed within six deliveries as the Titans went down to 135-3 in 15.4 overs. Washington Sundar (21 not out) and Rahul Tewatia (10 not out) crossed the finish line with eight balls to spare.

Earlier, Lucknow got off to a poor start when Kagiso Rabada (1-54) dismissed Mitchell Marsh for 11. In-form opener Aiden Markram scored 30 off 21 balls and was his team's top scorer. Krishna dismissed Markram in the seventh over.

Lucknow couldn’t get any momentum on a two-paced wicket as Gujarat bowlers struck at regular intervals.

Skipper Rishabh Pant scored 18. Impact player Ayush Badoni made nine runs, falling to Krishna who also struck twice against the lower-middle order as the hosts finished with a sub-par score.

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