AHMEDABAD, India: Little-known Shashank Singh smashed a 25-ball half-century and led Punjab Kings to a three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League on Thursday.
Singh clubbed four sixes and six boundaries in his unbeaten 61 off 29 balls as Punjab roared back to reach 200-7 for its second win in four games and hand Gujarat its first loss at home in three games.
Captain Shubman Gill had earlier anchored Gujarat to 199-4 after Punjab had won the toss and elected to field at a sprawling Narendra Modi Stadium.
Punjab lost both its openers — captain Shikhar Dhawan (1) and Jonny Bairstow (22) — inside the batting power play with Dhawan chopping Umesh Yadav’s first ball back onto his stumps while Bairstow was outdone by Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad and was clean bowled.
Sam Curran’s (5) promotion didn’t work out for Punjab as the Englishman offered a tame catch to Kane Williamson but Singh’s arrival at the wicket in the ninth over kept Punjab in the hunt as the right-handed batter showed plenty of aggression.
Jitesh Sharma struck back-to-back sixes to Rashid Khan (1-40) before missing out on a full toss and gave Afghanistan’s star spinner his 50th IPL wicket with Punjab still needing 50 off the final 27 balls.
Impact player Ashutosh Sharma then capitalized on two early dropped catches and smashed 31 off 17 balls as Yadav and Sai Sudharsan missed out catching opportunities in the deep, but Singh continued to hold one end up.
Earlier, Gill upped the ante in the death overs with Rahul Tewatia smashing unbeaten 23 off just eight balls which featured three boundaries and a six.
Williamson made a quiet start to the season in his first game for his new franchise as the New Zealand skipper made 26 off 22 balls before he was caught at backward point in the ninth over.
Gill pushed the scoring rate by adding 53 runs with Sudharsan, who made 33 off 19 balls, before dominating the pace of Kagiso Rabada (2-44) and Harshal Patel (1-44) in the death overs.
Shashank Singh’s half-century earns Punjab thrilling 3-wicket win over Gujarat in IPL
https://arab.news/g4n6u
Shashank Singh’s half-century earns Punjab thrilling 3-wicket win over Gujarat in IPL
- Singh clubbed four sixes and six boundaries in his unbeaten 61 off 29 balls as Punjab roared back to reach 200-7 for its second win in four games
- Captain Shubman Gill had earlier anchored Gujarat to 199-4 after Punjab had won the toss and elected to field at a sprawling Narendra Modi Stadium
Footballco launches new Riyadh studio to boost creator-led content boom
- Football media company’s venture caters for its Arabic video-first brands
- Footballco also plans to create in-studio formats for its fan-driven series, Yalla Fans, previously shot on location at football stadiums
RIYADH: Football media and culture company Footballco have opened a new production studio in Riyadh.
The move allows it to boost the volume of in-studio content created for its leading Arabic video-first football brands — Yalla Goal, Yalla Fans and Yalla Girl, as well as branded content for commercial partners.
The new studio complements Footballco’s Riyadh office, which opened in December 2024 as its Middle East headquarters. Footballco’s move to the city was driven by a desire to better serve clients in Saudi Arabia and to bring it closer to the country’s burgeoning football industry. The company now has 20 full-time staff in the Kingdom.
Footballco currently operates three video-first Arabic-language football brands in the region, all targeting Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha fans and fronted by experienced content creators. Yalla Goal combines spirited discussions, bold challenges and fun games, while Yalla Girl celebrates the growth of women’s football in Saudi Arabia and the region, with a focus on talent, personality, laughter and friendship. Footballco also plans to create in-studio formats for its fan-driven series, Yalla Fans, previously shot on location at football stadiums.
The company’s decision to invest in creator-led, in-studio video formats is backed by its own research which found that, for young fans, brand partnerships with creators are seen as more valuable than official tournament partnerships.
Footballco’s new studio will increase the frequency of video content created for its channels, supported by two full-time hosts for Yalla Goal — Mohammed Bargat and Waleed Al-Shargi (better known as Shargi), who have a combined following of over 900,000 on their personal channels.
Andy Jackson, Footballco’s Middle East senior vice president, said: “With seven national teams from the region set to appear at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, eight if Iraq qualify through the play-offs, these new facilities and increasing video output sets our brands up for success at a time where we know there will be an unprecedented demand for fun, creator-led video content.
“We’re also excited to welcome both Bargat and Shargi to the team, with both having more than proved themselves as understanding how to create content that resonates with young fans and they are already familiar to our audiences.”
He added: “In December, our Arabic social channels generated over 1.7 billion video views, so we are building from an incredibly strong base to further cement our position as the clear market leader both in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. Our creator-led video formats have proved incredibly popular with brands, and this investment will see us able to offer a broader range of opportunities to our many commercial partners.”
While the World Cup this summer will see Footballco’s new studio in constant use, the company is also readying a slate of programming across Ramadan, with a 30-show spread culminating in an Eid special.
Taha Imani, Footballco’s head of video and social in the Middle East and North Africa region, said: “With YouTube becoming the number one place for fans to enjoy longform and short-form football content, and based on success across Footballco brands such as The Front Three in other markets, we’re expecting to grow at speed as we approach the World Cup giving fans exactly what they want from us on a daily basis.”
