Capitol Hill

After pacer Mohit Sharma made a stellar comeback to the tournament with 2-18 and led a clinical bowling performance from Gujarat in restricting Punjab to 153/8, the defending champions were on course for a comfortable chase, thanks to Gill's serene 67 off 49 balls, laced with seven fours and a six.

After having made only one appearance each in the 2019 and 2020 editions of the IPL, Mohit used his slower balls and tight lines to good effect to finish with 2-18 in four overs, while dismissing Jitesh Sharma and Sam Curran. At the end of the Power-play, Punjab were cruising at 52/2. But Gujarat's bowlers brought them back by conceding only 42 runs in the middle overs and picking four wickets in the last five overs to keep Punjab to a below-par total on a pitch which looked good for batting.

Both teams are into this game after facing defeats in their last match. While Gujarat lost to Kolkata Knight Riders as Rinku Singh hit five sixes on the last five balls, Punjab went down to Sunrisers Hyderabad despite captain Shikhar Dhawan making 99 not out in a batting masterclass.

"He has to be an opening batsman, because only then will he get many opportunities to score runs. I feel it is Subhman Gill because he is in good form and also because he plays top of the order. So he will get a good number of opportunities to score runs. The pitches are good, so if he can score 80-100 runs consecutively in two or three innings, then at that point of time only he will already have 300-400 runs," Shastri told Star Sports, the official TV broadcasters of IPL 2023.

Kolkata needed 29 runs off the final over for an unlikely win against Gujarat at the Narendra Modi Stadium. After Umesh Yadav took a single off Yash Dayal, carnage followed as Rinku smashed five successive sixes on the last five balls over wide long-off, backward square leg and long-off, followed by clearing long-on fence twice.

But Rinku Singh smashed five successive sixes on the last five balls off Yash Dayal to complete an improbable heist in the history of IPL and give Kolkata a memorable three-wicket victory at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Fifties from B Sai Sudharsan and Vijay Shankar, including him smashing Lockie Ferguson and Shardul Thakur for five sixes and two fours in the 19th and 20 overs, yielding 45 runs overall, took Gujarat to 204/4 in 20 overs.

Shankar showed his impressive six-hitting range on the IPL stage by smashing Lockie Ferguson and Shardul Thakur for five sixes and two fours in the 19th and 20 overs, yielding 45 runs overall, to end up unbeaten on a 24-ball 63, as Gujarat ended up with 204/4 in their 20 overs.

After making an unbeaten 62 against Delhi Capitals in a chase of 163, Sudharsan was pristine in his 53 off 38 balls. But it was Shankar's unbeaten 24-ball onslaught in the last two overs, which produced 45 runs, that got Gujarat past 200. He hit two fours and as many sixes off Lockie Ferguson, before smashing a hat-trick of sixes off Shardul Thakur in the final over.

Both teams come into Sunday's game on the back of victories. While Gujarat beat Delhi Capitals by six wickets, Kolkata thrashed Royal Challengers Bangalore by 81 runs. After winning the toss, Rashid said Hardik is a little unwell and the team didn't want to risk him for the match.

However, recent reports suggest that the IPL's TV ratings have declined in the past couple of years due to viewer fatigue. Star Sports recorded a TVR of 5.6 for the opening fixture in 2022, the lowest in the last six editions. As viewers returned to their TV screens for the sixth time in three years, they found other distractions when India returned to a more normal way of life after a nearly 21-month lockdown, leading to a decline in TV viewership.