There are classes, and there are masterclasses. Today's innings from Josh Buttler was a masterclass. In the sultry heat of Ahmedabad, as players fell to cramps all day long, Buttler kept wickets for the DC Innings and limped his way to a masterful innings. 

Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to bowl first. On a pitch where the ball came onto the bat exceptionally well, DC posted a formidable 203/8 in their 20 overs. Abishek Porel (18 off 9) and KL Rahul (28 off 14) set a blistering pace early, while Karun Nair (31 off 18) and Axar Patel (39 off 32) anchored the middle order.

Tristan Stubbs (31 off 21) and Ashutosh Sharma (37 off 19) provided a late surge, capitalizing on 12 extras (9 wides, 3 leg byes). Prasidh Krishna led GT’s bowling with a stellar 4/41, dismissing key batters like Rahul, Nair, and Patel, while Mohammed Siraj (1/47) and Arshad Khan (1/46) were expensive. Rashid Khan (0/38) went wicketless, and Ishant Sharma (1/19) and Sai Kishore (1/9) chipped in briefly.

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Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, including a quick collapse from 173/4 to 173/6, DC’s aggressive batting set a daunting target of 204 for GT.

Out came GT to bat, and the day seemed theirs from the start. Shubman Gill fell early to an unwanted run-out while Sai Sudharsan contributed a quick 36 off 21 (5 fours, 1 six) before falling to Kuldeep Yadav in the 8th over.

These were the only two wickets to fall early for GT. Rutherford and Buttler thereafter established a dominant partnership with Buttler taking charge, scoring an unbeaten 97 off 54 while Rutherford played the perfect supportive partner - scoring when needed, and keeping his wicket till the 19th over, where he fell to a mis hit on a full toss caught at long-off. But the damage was done and GT needed 11 off 7 balls after his dismissal as Tewatia came out to bat. 

Buttler and Tewatia faced the last over needing 10 runs to win. Tewatia started off with a 6 and completely took the pressure off and finished off the match with a follow-on boundary down the leg side. Gujarat Titans won by 7 wickets with 4 balls to spare. 

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