Gujarat Titans defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets on Sunday (March 31), overcoming the setback to Chennai Super Kings thanks to a disciplined effort with the ball and a team effort at bat, highlighted by David Miller’s comeback to form. Sai Sudharsan (45 off 36) and Miller (44* off 27) top-scored for GT, which needed 19.1 overs to accomplish the goal after the potent SRH batting order was limited to 162/8. The fact that there was not a single fifty in the match prolonged GT’s wait for a half-century score this year.
How Miller crossed the line with GT
With Miller scoring just 13 runs out of 16 overs, the equation was 49 off the final five overs on a sluggish pitch where boundary droughts were frequent throughout the match. Miller, however, is a different animal in run-chases; before to this game, he had three fifty-score innings and an average of over 56 in the second inning since the IPL 2021. To finish the game for GT, he made all of that experience evident.
Miller and Sudharsan shared a 64-run partnership off 42 balls, with 24 of those runs coming off Mayank Markande’s single over. The equation was reduced to 25 off four overs when Miller and Sudharsan each smashed two fours and a six in the over. Despite the fact that Cummins removed Sudharsan in the 17th over, Miller struck two fours, and Vijay Shankar then brought them closer with two fours off Jaydev Unadkat. Even though Cummins’ 19th over yielded just six runs, GT only required a single in the last over, which was completed by a hobbling Miller hitting a six off Unadkat.
The beginning of the pursuit
SRH got off to a quick start thanks to Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill, who were attempting to take advantage of the powerplay as much as they could. Between them, the opening batsmen hit two fours, then Saha added two sixes, one off of Shahbaz and one off of Unadkat. After switching ends, the left-arm spinner was able to get Saha to gift him a straightforward catch at midfield. GT finished with 52/1 in the powerplay as Gill hit his maiden six off one over extra cover and Sudharsan hit a four off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the same over.
Brakes are applied by SRH spinners.
Before Gill hit one off Washington, Markande and Washington Sundar bowled in unison for a few overs, cutting out the boundaries. But in the next over, Markande got the key wicket of the captain when the batter was unable to clear Samad at long on, leaving GT at 78/2 at halftime. In the eleventh over, SRH captain Cummins finally went on the attack and conceded just five runs. As the boundaries began to close once more, Sudharsan broke free first hitting a four off a drive over Unadkat’s head and then a beautifully placed ball off Cummins beyond the short third man. Even though the needed rate increased to over ten in the fifteenth over, Bhuvneshwar only conceded six runs, and Miller ultimately handled it brilliantly.
In the beginning of the game…
How did SRH get its start?
Travis Head and Mayank Agarwal both hit five fours to get SRH off to a strong start, carrying on from where they left off in the last game. However, Agarwal was out for the third time in as many innings while playing the pull shot, with Azmatullah Omarzai making the breakthrough. After hitting two sixes off Rashid Khan in the previous game to assist SRH reach 56/1 at the end of the powerplay, Abhishek Sharma, who had previously achieved the quickest half-century for the team, continued his fine run.
For what reason did they slow down?
As the innings went on, the surface grew slower, and GT made full use of this by applying the brakes with their spinners and a shift in pace from the quicks. Along with Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad had bowled Head for 19 and sneaked in close overs. Meanwhile, Abhishek snapped a 20-delivery boundary drought by using the DRS to overturn a caught-behind verdict. However, Mohit Sharma’s change of pace and catch to cover brought an end to his innings. Heinrich Klaasen attempted to give the game some momentum by hitting a pair of sixes off Noor, but Aiden Markram was unable to hit the straps. However, in an attempt to play across the line, Rashid bowled Klaasen, and Markram was bowled by Umesh Yadav shortly after. Abdul Samad hit two fours to conclude the 15th over, bringing SRH to 122/5.
Samad excels, but GT limits SRH
In his debut match of the year, Darshan Nalkande bowled a cost-effective 16th over while giving up just six runs. Samad blasted Mohit for a six after Samad had crushed Rashid’s final ball for a straight four. In addition, Shahbaz Ahmed hit the bowler for a six and Umesh took him down in the deep off Nalkande, giving him another fortunate break. With just three runs coming off the final over, Mohit produced the ideal ending by taking the wickets of Shahbaz and impact substitute Washington Sundar. Samad was also run out on the last ball.
Brief scores: Gujarat Titans 168/3 in 19.1 overs (Sai Sudharsan 45, David Miller 44, Pat Cummins 1-28) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad 162/8 in 20 overs (Abdul Samad 29, Abhishek Sharma 29, Mohit Sharma 3-25) by 7 wickets.
Next stop?
GT will stay in Ahmedabad and play their third home game on April 4 against Punjab Kings. On April 5, SRH will play CSK in Hyderabad, their hometown.
