An epic onslaught from Rahul Tewatia (40* off 24 deliveries) and useful cameos from David Miller (30 off 21 deliveries) and Abhinav Manohar (15* off 7 deliveries) have helped Gujarat Titans (GT) get off to a winning start to their Indian Premier League (IPL) journey against fellow debutants Lucknow Super Giants.
Chasing 159, the Titans looked down and out at the 15-over stage after they had managed just 19 runs for the loss of Matthew Wade and skipper Hardik Pandya in the previous five overs.
Gujarat needed something special with 68 runs more to get in the last five overs, and that is exactly what they got from Tewatia and Miller.
The two southpaws took the attack to Deepak Hooda and Ravi Bishnoi, smashing them for as many as three sixes and four boundaries to reduce the equation to just 29 off the last 18 deliveries.
Avesh Khan got smashed for a six on the second delivery of the 18th over by Miller, but he came back brilliantly to concede just one off the next four, including the wicket of the South African basher.
Rahul's captaincy left a lot to be desired as he did not complete the quota of Dushmantha Chameera. He did bring him in the attack to bowl the penultimate over, but Manohar smashed the Sri Lankan for a couple of fours before Tewatia sealed the deal with another boundary in the final over.
Chameera, who knocked over Shubman Gill (0) and Vijay Shankar (4) cheaply in the powerplay, and Krunal Pandya gave away just 17 in his four overs besides picking the prized scalp of his brother Hardik, were the pick of the bowlers for Lucknow.
Earlier, Lucknow Supergiants rode on the brilliance of uncapped debutant Ayush Badoni and Deepak Hooda to recover from a desperate position to post a defendable total of 6-158 in 20 overs.
Batting first, Lucknow got off to the worst possible start as Gujarat Titans seamer Mohammed Shami rocked their top-order with a brilliant display of seam bowling.
Shami knocked over LSG skipper KL Rahul with a brilliant full-length delivery, which nipped away a fraction to take Rahul's outside edge.
Shami was in his element, and he soon accounted for another big fish in the form of Quinton de Kock, courtesy of a vicious nip-backer.
Varun Aaron dismissed Evin Lewis, while Manish Pandey met the same fate as QDK as he was late to react to a delivery that jagged back into him to shatter his off-stump.
Lucknow finished the powerplay at 32/4, and with an inconsistent Deepak Hooda and debutant Ayush Badoni at the crease, it looked all doom and gloom for the Lucknow franchise.
However, in a sensational turn of events, Hooda and then Badoni insinuated a sensational counterattack to bring their side back in the contest.
Badoni and Hooda laid into Rashid Khan and Lockie Ferguson and unleashed some breathtaking strokes; including slog sweeps, pull shots and lofted drives.
Hooda smashed a 41-ball 55 with the help of six fours and two sixes, and while he perished for the cause, Badoni (54 off 41 deliveries), along with Krunal Pandya (21* off 13 deliveries), ensured that Lucknow finished their innings at 158/6. They scored as many as 95 runs in their last 12 overs.
Shami (3/25 in 4 overs) was adjudged the 'Player of the Match' for his sensational spell of bowling.
Brief Scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 158/6 (20)
Deepak Hooda 55 (41), Ayush Badoni 54* (41);
Mohammed Shami 3/25 (4)
Gujarat Titans 161/5 (19.4)
Rahul Tewatia 40* (24), Hardik Pandya 33 (28);
Dushmantha Chameera 2/22 (3)
Gujarat Titans won by five wickets.