‘Good to see Mohit Sharma back’ – Fans react as Mohit Sharma’s sensational spell on IPL return restricts PBKS under 160

The exhilarating action continued in the Indian Premier League season 16 as Punjab Kings took on Gujarat Titans in Match 18 at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and invited Punjab to bat first.

During the first innings of the game, right-arm seamer Mohit Sharma stole the limelight with his brilliant spell of 2/18 in four overs. He finished as the pick of the bowlers after making an IPL comeback after three years. The 31-year-old was brought into the attack in the 11th over of the innings and gave away six runs in his first over.

Sharma got his first scalp in his second over as he dismissed Jitesh Sharma for 25 (23), who was looking set at the crease. He further got rid of well-set Sam Curran who was looking to up the ante in the final two overs of the innings.

Notably, Mohit Sharma was the purple cap winner in the 2014 edition of the IPL as he finished the season with 23 wickets at an average of 19.65. His magnificent performance also earned him a place in the Indian squad for the ODI World Cup 2015.

Coming back to Punjab’s innings, playing in their home ground, they didn’t get off to a good start as Mohammed Shami dismissed Prabhsimran Singh on just the second ball of the innings. The orange cap holder captain Shikhar Dhawan also departed cheaply after scoring just eight runs as Punjab got their second blow inside the powerplay.

Punjab Kings finish their innings on 153/8

After the two early wickets, Matthew Short was looking in good touch as he scored 36 off 24 balls but his innings was cut short by Rashid Khan, who cleaned him up in the seventh over. Bhanuka Rajapaksa was seen struggling in the middle as he scored 20 off 26 balls and got out to Alzarri Joseph.

Contributions from Jitesh Sharma, Sam Curran (22 off 22) and Shahrukh Khan (22 off 9) helped Punjab finish their innings on 153/8 in their allotted 20 overs. All of Gujarat’s bowlers picked up one wicket each with Mohit Sharma leading in the wickets column with two wickets to his name.

Here’s how Twitter Reacted: