Timely end-over cameos from Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan proved to be the difference in the end, as GT emerged victorious against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 27 and stretched their winning streak to three games.
Needing 22 from the last over against SRH’s in-form left-arm quick Marco Jansen, Tewatia and Khan tilted the scales in Titans’ favour off the last delivery. While Tewatia eased up the equation a little bit with a first-ball six, it was Rashid who provided GT with the finishing touches via three magnificent sixes to close off the game.
The Afghan cricketer had a rare poor outing with the ball, conceding 0 for 45 off his four overs, but he more than made up for it with some incredible power-hitting against Jansen.
Tewatia was majorly responsible for giving Titans a chance as he rose up to the occasion once again in the closing stages, hitting a critical 40 not out off 21 deliveries, featuring four fours and two sixes.
The Titans run-chase of SRH’s intimidating 195/6 had a good start and an excellent finish, which allowed them to reach home. For the top of the proceedings, it was wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha, who came up with the goods. An unlikely hero with the bat for his side, Saha produced an exhibition of clean ball-striking through his 68 off 38 balls.
In between their chase, Titans came face to face with one of the better spells delivered this season by SRH quick Umran Malik. The 22-year-old ran through the Titans’ middle-order and ended up astonishing figures of five for 24 off his four overs. He also clocked the 150-mark for multiple deliveries through his spell, reinforcing his status as IPL 2022’s fastest quick.
How the Sunrisers would have wished they had an extra over or two of Umran more to throw at the Titans that were made to look helpless by his pace and hostility. Given the surface, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/33) and Washington Sundar (0/34), too, bowled well for the 2016 champions. What didn’t help their case, however, were the horrible outings endured by Jansen (0/63) and T Natarajan (0/43). Jansen was especially poor with the ball in hand, failing to execute his plans with the new or the old white cherry.
The Titans also had an off day with the ball, but they found a few saviours who ensured that the game never completely went out of their way. Leading the pack with three for 39 was experienced quick Mohammad Shami, while pacers Yash Dayal (1/25) and Alzarri Joseph (1/35) played their part in keeping the damage in control. Dayal, the unknown figure in an otherwise star-studded bowling unit, was perhaps the difference between SRH reaching a score of 220 and finishing below the 200-mark.
Hyderabad lost wickets at regular intervals in the first half, where it required two handsome fifties from Abhishek Sharma (65) and Aiden Markram (56) and Shashank Singh’s superb cameo (25* off 6) for them put the Titans under pressure heading into the second half.
Unfortunately for SRH, their much-vaunted pace unit failed to come up with another collective performance, allowing Titans to eat into the massive target and eventually reach home with their five wickets intact. With this win, GT have regained their top spot in the standings, clinching victories in seven of their eight matches so far.
Brief scores
Sunrisers Hyderabad 195/6 in 20 overs (Sharma 65, Markram 56; Shami 3/39) lost to Gujarat Titans 199/5 in 20 overs (Saha 68, Tewatia 40*; Malik 5/25) by 5 wickets
