• Rabada breaks IPL record but Titans come out top

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    Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada broke an IPL record as the Punjab Kings suffered a six-wicket defeat to the Gujarat Titans on Thursday.

    Rabada, making his first appearance of the season for Punjab, became the fastest to reach 100 IPL wickets (64 matches) when dismissing Titans opener Wriddhiman Saha. The previous record had been held by Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga (70).

    WATCH: Rabada takes 100th IPL wicket

    Rabada finished with figures of 1-36 from his four overs.

    The Titans went on to reach their target of 154 with one ball to spare, with David Miller scoring 17* off 18 balls.

    Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat were cruising towards victory until England all-rounder Sam Curran removed India opener Shubman Gill for 67 in the final over of the chase to raise hopes for Punjab.

    Punjab, captained by former India opener Shikhar Dhawan, could only score 153-8 after they were put in to bat by their opponents.

    Curran, the most expensive player in tournament history at $2.23-million, tried to defend seven off the last over but Rahul Tewatia smacked the penultimate ball for four to win the game.

    Earlier, none of the Punjab batsmen managed to convert their slow and scratchy starts into a bigger score as they faced a very disciplined bowling performance from Gujarat.

    Former India pace bowler Mohit Sharma, who made his debut for Pandya’s team, bowled tight lines and took a tidy 2-18 in a Man of the Match display.

    Sharma was well supported by Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan (1-26), West Indies quick Alzarri Joseph (1-32) and Ireland’s Josh Little (1-31).

    Punjab lost Prabhsimran Singh for a second-ball duck and Dhawan (eight) soon followed.

    Australian Matthew Short steadied the innings with 36 off 24 balls before falling to Khan’s spin, while Sri Lanka’s Bhanuka Rajapaksa needed 26 balls to score 20 before Joseph took his wicket.

    Shahrukh Khan’s quick-fire 22 and contributions from Curran (22) and Jitesh Sharma (25) took Punjab to a below-par score.

    In contrast, Gujarat openers Gill and Wriddhiman Saha (30) laid a good foundation with a 48-run partnership in the chase.

    They were backed by youngster Sai Sudharsan (19) and Miller before Tewatia hit the winning runs.

    © Agence France-Presse

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    Simon Borchardt