IPL 2022: The wicket helped us, says pacer Sandeep Sharma after Punjab Kings' win over Gujarat Titans

Punjab Kings pacer Sandeep Sharma said that the DY Patil track, which was "sticky" in the beginning helped their bowlers in the IPL game against Gujarat Titans, which they won by eight wickets. First South African pacer Kagiso Rabada snared four wickets to restrict Gujarat Titans to a below-par 143 for eight and then Punjab rode on flamboyant opener Shikhar Dhawan's unbeaten 62 to chase the target with 24 balls to spare. "Today the wicket (the track) also helped us. It was sticky in the beginning, which helped the new ball to move and the ball was holding on the wicket," Sharma, who returned with figures of 0/17, said at the post-match press conference.

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Kagiso Rabada took 4/33 as the Punjab Kings beat the first-place Gujarat Titans by eight wickets. Rabada's spell ensured Gujarat produced a sub-par batting performance on a two-paced DY Patil Stadium pitch. The Titans finished with only 143/8 in 20 overs. In reply, Shikhar Dhawan scored 62 not out

"We wanted to execute the plans that we had discussed with (head coach) Anil (Kumble) Sir and we were lucky that it happened today (last night)," said Sharma. Sharma also felt that the Punjab bowlers came with the mindset of executing their plans and they bowled well throughout the innings. "We bowled well in all the overs. We have very experienced bowlers in our team who have played in the league. So we wanted to execute the plans and if they got a partnership, we should stick to the plan in pressure moments," he said. The win helped Punjab jump to the fifth spot and according to Sharma, the Mayank Agarwal-led team is focusing on one game at a time from now.

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