Mohammed Siraj’s sensational four-for and the 90-run partnership between Shubman Gill (61*) and Washington Sundar (49) helped Gujarat Titans beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets in their own backyard. This was GT’s third win on the bounce and with this win, they move up to second place in the points table.
The only way SRH could’ve won this game was by taking early wickets. Dismissing Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler inside the first four overs was a great effort by the new-ball pair of Mohammed Shami and Pat Cummins. However, they couldn’t capitalise on the strong start. Promoted to No. 4, Sundar took the attack to Simarjeet Singh and transferred the pressure by hammering 20 runs off his over. Sundar justified the promotion by finding boundaries at regular intervals.
This allowed Gill to settle in, and since the required run rate was never a concern, the GT skipper was content rotating the strike. The 90-run third-wicket stand between Gill and Sundar ensured GT chased the target with ease. Sundar couldn’t reach his 50, but he did his job, and later, Sherfane Rutherford played a blazing cameo of 35 off 16 deliveries to help his team seal the win and collect two more points.
SRH had struggled with the bat in the Powerplay in their last two games, and it was no different against GT. In fact, it became even more challenging against an in-form Siraj on a slow wicket. There wasn’t much seam or swing on offer, but Siraj stuck to his plans of targeting the stumps, bringing the ball back into the left-handers from over the wicket. Travis Head tried to play off his hips, but the ball stopped on him, and he ended up playing it straight into Sudharsan’s hands.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ishan Kishan attempted to steady the innings before Kishan was caught at deep backward square-leg. Nitish then stitched together a brief stand with Heinrich Klaasen, but both were dismissed by Sai Kishore, who ensured SRH never gained momentum until the final over. Aniket Verma and Kamindu Mendis couldn’t make much of an impact with the bat either. Siraj returned for a superb final spell, where he got a hint of reverse swing. The GT seamer bagged two more wickets to finish with 4/17 in his four overs. A late flourish from Cummins, who smashed an unbeaten 22 off just 9 balls, helped SRH push their total to above 150.
In addition to Siraj’s brilliance, Prasidh Krishna impressed with two wickets while keeping things tight. Sai Kishore continued his strong form, also picking up two scalps, while Rashid Khan had another quiet outing without a wicket.