Gujarat Titans (GT) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by seven wickets with five balls to spare in the 12th match of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday, 31 March at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The Gill-led side the team capitalized on Mohit Sharma's three-wicket haul and a strong batting performance to secure their second win of the season.
Hosts' Solid Start
The Titans began their chase of 162 runs strongly, led by captain Shubman Gill and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (25 runs of 13 balls) who put together a brisk 36-run partnership in just 25 balls. Unfortunately, Saha was dismissed by a delivery from Shabaz Ahmed, but Shubman found another reliable partner in substitute Sai Sudharsan, and they added 38 runs together in 30 balls.
Right after the strategic timeout, Shubman Gill fell victim to Mayank Markande's delivery, caught by Abdul Samad at the long-on boundary. Gill departed the field having scored 36 runs off 28 balls, including two fours and a six.
Next, David Miller joined Sai Sudharshan on the field. Together, they formed the highest partnership for the home team, contributing 64 runs in 42 balls. Eventually, Sudharshan departed after scoring 45 runs off 36 balls, as SRH skipper Pat Cummins claimed his wicket.
The Winning Six By Miller
Vijay Shankar teamed up with the South African player. Batting at number 5, he hit two boundaries and ended the innings unbeaten on 14 runs. Miller also remained unbeaten, scoring 44 runs off 27 balls and sealed the victory with a winning six, leading Gujarat Titans to a commanding win over the Sunrisers.
What Happened in the First Innings?
Veteran fast-bowler Mohit Sharma picked a brilliant 3-25 to lead a good bowling show for the Gujarat Titans in restricting Sunrisers Hyderabad to 162/8 in 20 overs. He was also well-supported by Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Umesh Yadav taking one wicket each.
For SRH, all of their top seven batters made beyond 15, but none of them could go past 30. Abdul Samad and Abhishek Sharma made 29 each, as the duo became the highest individual scorers for the visitors in an innings where they made only 40 runs in the last five overs.
Electing to bat first, Travis Head and Mayank Agarwal hit five boundaries between themselves, before the latter was cramped for room and swivel-pulled straight to deep square off Omarzai in the fifth over, falling for a 17-ball 16.
GT's Comeback
Abhishek, fresh off a 16-ball fifty against Mumbai Indians, began by nailing a pulled four off Omarzai, before smacking back-to-back sixes against Rashid to take SRH to 56/1 at the end of power-play.
But GT bounced back as Travis Head missed a slog off Noor and was castled for 19 off 14 balls. Three overs later, with Noor keeping things tight, Abhishek fell for 29 off 20 balls when he mistimed a punch to cover off Mohit. The in-form Heinrich Klaasen started in style by glancing an on-pads delivery from Noor for four, before clubbing Noor for back-to-back sixes over deep mid-wicket fence. His fun under the sun ended at 24 off 13 balls when he missed a skiddy full delivery while trying to pull off Rashid and was castled.
SRH's Final Over Troubles
Shortly after, Aiden Markram holed out to long-on off Umesh after his lofted on-drive was caught by Rashid sliding in to leave SRH in trouble. Samad dealt in fours while Shahbaz Ahmed hit nicely timed sixes in their crucial 45-run stand-off 28 balls for the sixth wicket. But Mohit had Ahmed holing out to long-on off a slower delivery and impact player Washington Sundar pulling straight to deep mid-wicket on consecutive deliveries in the final over, conceding only three runs and ending with Samad’s run-out.
With inputs from IANS.
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