The setting for the match was Ahmedabad, Gujarat Titans had to beat the eliminated Lucknow Super Giants to seal a top-2 finish but it was Rishabh Pant's side who rode on two players from a continent far, far away to record a win, their 6th out of 13 matches this season.
While most of IPL 2025 was ruled by domestic players, a few foreigners, across teams, have also contributed to their teams causes -- Mitchell Starc for the Delhi Capitals, Noor Ahmad has been superlative despite Chennai Super Kings' torrid season, Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh have been sensational for LSG.
While Marsh continued in his strong run with the bat this season, topping it off with his maiden IPL century on Thursday, LSG found a brand new, shiny star in New Zealand medium pacer William O'Rourke.
The two trans-Tasman players shone the light on themselves with their match-winning contributions as Lucknow recorded their third win over GT, having won both their matches this season.
Australian all-rounder Marsh came out and took his time before he belted the GT bowling to guide them to a massive score.
Put into bat by GT Captain Shubman Gill on a surface good for batting, Marsh took his time while his opening partner Aiden Markram got off to a quick start.
LSG Landmark
Once he got his eye in, Marsh got stuck into the bowling. He got a lifeline in the third over when on 14, he was put down by Kasigo Rabada off his own bowling.
Marsh picked up the pace after the Powerplay, punishing any loose ball that came his way.
'Bison' exhibited his power hitting, taking on an undercooked Rashid Khan in the 12th over. The Afghan leggie was not spared -- short balls were put away with disdain, and even a tossed up ball was given treatment as he leaked 25 runs in an over.
He brought up his maiden IPL 100 in the 17th single, with no extravagant celebration but the customary raise of the bat.
Marsh closes in on Rahul's record
Marsh never took his foot off the pedal even after his century but was eventually removed by Arshad Khan in the penultimate over.
The Aussie all-rounder scored a blazing 117 off 64 balls. Not only was his innings decorated with 10 fours and 8 sixes, his two massive partnerships put LSG in the driver's seat. After a 91-run opening stand with Markram, he followed it up with a 121-run partnership with Nicholas Pooran to prop LSG to a match-winning total.
But the job was only half done as LSG had to restrict GT on a flat track.
Shubman Gill and Sai Sudarshan gave their team and fiery start with the home team reaching 42 for 0 in 4 overs before debutant O'Rourke announced himself in the IPL.
Signed as a replacement for the injured Mayank Yadav, Kiwi O'Rourke gave a good account of himself on his IPL debut.
Just when the GT openers were starting to pile on a big partnership, the 23 year old drew first blood.
Sudarshan played a lofted drive off a full ball, only to have Markram complete a good low catch diving forward to be dismissed for 21 off 16.
Avesh Khan then removed Gill in the 8th over with GT on 85 for 2.
With the hope of getting another quick wicket, O'Rourke was called back to bowl the next over and tried to keep it tight bowling the hard lengths, but Jos Buttler managed to squeeze out 9 off the over.
He gave another 10 runs in his third over as Shahrukh Khan and Sherfane Rutherford looked to chip at the target, the Tamil Nadu batter hammering the poor wide ball through covers for a four.
Shahrukh and Rutherford upped the ante with each passing over and clobbered the wayward Avesh Khan, Shahbaz Ahmed and Akash Deep, as 53 runs were scored in 3 overs.
With 53 needed off 24 balls and Shahrukh and Rutherford going great guns, it looked like GT was running away with it.
But O'Rourke put paid to those possibilities. In his final over, he had Rutherford caught in the deep to break the 86-run partnership.
He got his third wicket off the final ball of the over as Rahul Tewatia mishit the lofted drive to long on to be dismissed for 2.
Hereafter, GT lost their way as O'Rourke was involved in another dismissal, taking a catch in the infield to get rid of Arshad Khan. GT were eventually 202 for 9 in 20 overs, 33 short of their target.
On his first experience in the IPL, O'Rourke said after the match: 'It's been awesome, the Indian and foreign guys and it has been a lot of fun.'
'T20 is a pretty fickle game and when you have got 240 on the board it's pretty tough to chase down. When they were hammering a hard length it was not coming on and it was about keeping our lengths.'
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