Kevin O’Brien played an unbelievable knock as Gujarat Giants outshined India Capitals by three wickets in the first game at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Chasing a target of 180, Gujarat Giants chased down the target with eight balls to spare.
Earlier, Ashley Nurse led India Capitals to 179 for seven against Gujarat Giants after smashing an unbeaten 103 off just 41 balls.
GG Vs ICAP Match Highlights:
Invited to bat first, India Capitals faced a dreary start when they lost their top-three batters in the first 5 overs, while in the second ball post-powerplay they lost their fourth one too.
They were struggling at 34 for 4 in 6.2 overs, and then Ashley Nurse took the charge and first he added 40 runs for the fifth with Denesh Ramdin and when the latter walked back after scoring 31, Nurse took the whole responsibility of scoring runs on his shoulder and steadied the innings with his destructive knock.
In the final over he smashed a stunning six to complete his hundred and remained unbeaten till the very end after playing a superb knock of 103 off 43 with the help of eight fours and nine sixes to drive his team to 179 for 7 in 20 overs.
In reply, Gujarat Giants made a start with a 40 on board in the first over before the skipper Sehwag got out on the last ball of fourth over.
The Irish star Kevin O Brien and Parthiv Patel then added 70 runs for the second wicket. Both made a solid partnership of 70 runs in 37.
Patel dismissed after scoring 24 off 13, but O Brien remained on crease and soon completed his century. Unfortunately he didn’t manage to hit the winning runs as when his side needed only 5 to win in 16 balls, he was caught in middle.
The match again turned dramatic as the Gujarat side lost 3 wickets on 179, but as only 1 required in 9 balls, Gujarat claimed the victory.
