Gujarat skipper Gill slams 61, Sundar 49; Mohammed Siraj adjudged player of the match
HYDERABAD: A fiery bowling performance by ‘player of the match’ Mohammed Siraj (4-0-17-4), captain Shubman Gill’s class (61 n.o., 43b, 9×4) and the flamboyance of debutant for Gujarat Titans, Washintgon Sundar (49, 29b, 5×4, 2×6) ensured that former champions, Sunrisers Hyderabad, suffered fourth straight loss in five games in the IPL at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Sunday.
The duo, which put on 90 runs off 56 balls for the third wicket, dished out an object lesson in the art of scoring runs on a slow pitch with emphasis on wonderful stroke-selection.
Chasing 153 to win, the Titans were in a spot of bother at 16 for two in 3.5 overs, losing opener Sai Sudharsan (5) and Jos Buttler (0).
But, southpaw Sundar wrested the initiative, hitting Impact Player and pacer Simarjeet Singh for two fours and two sixes in the sixth over.
West Indian Sherfane Rutherford, after Sundar was dismissed, hit four fours in one over from left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma and then hit a massive six off Cummins, ensuring it was a comprehensive seven-wicket win for Titans.
Earlier, ‘local hero’ Siraj saw Sunrisers, put into bat, struggle to score a modest target of 152 for eight. Siraj struck the huge blow with the sixth ball of the innings, inducing Travis Head (8) to flick a full-length ball straight to mid-wicket.
Gill’s persistence to give Siraj his third straight over paid off as the latter saw Abhishek Sharma (18, 16b, 4×4) hit, again a full-length ball on leg-stump, straight to mid-on to make it 38 for two in 4.4 overs. This was Siraj’s 100th wicket in IPL.
Sunrisers scored only 45 for two in the power-play.
Then, it was the turn of the pacer Prasidh Krishna to sustain the pressure, removing Ishan Kishan (17, 14b, 2×4), who pulled one straight to the fielder near the boundary, to make it 50 for three in 7.2 overs.
For six overs (from four to 10), there was no boundary, perhaps a tribute to the way the Titans had the batters in a spot.
But, soon left-arm spinner Sai Kishore was spot on – cleaning up Klaasen (27, 19b, 2×4, 1×6)and forcing Nitish Kumar Reddy (31, 34b, 3×4) to swing one straight to the fielder in the deep (105/5 in 15.1 overs).
Some lusty blows by captain Pat Cummins (22 n.o., 9b, 3×4, 1×6) propped the total thanks to Ishant Sharma (4-0-53-0), who was the most disappointing.
