Gujarat Titans once again rode the brilliance of their top-3 batters to a convincing 38-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Ahmedabad on Friday.
The victory propelled them to the second spot in the standings with 14 points from 10 games, while Sunrisers Hyderabad are almost out of the reckoning for a playoffs berth with six from as many games. Sunrisers need to win all their remaining matches, but even that may not be enough to take them through.
The 225-run target proved to be tough after the early dismissal of Travis Head, but Abhishek Sharma kept their hopes alive with a 74 off 41 balls. But once he holed out in the deep, the Titans were confident of their victory.
Prasidh superb
Prasidh Krishna was the pick of the Titans bowlers and bowled four overs for just 19.
He bowled the hard lengths to stifle the Sunrisers batters in the Powerplay overs and provided the first blow by removing Head. He then returned to dismiss Heinrich Klaasen when he was threatening to cut loose.
There’s nothing fancy with Prasidh. He believes in keeping it simple and sticking to the basics, which have helped him prosper.
Mohammed Siraj returned to follow Prasidh’s lead and kept banging into the pitch to dismiss Aniket Vermaand Kamindu Mendis off consecutive balls to end the Sunrisers’ challenge.
Sudharsan sparkles
A robust opening partnership set the tone as the home team raced to 224/6 after being put into bat.
The Titans rolled out a black-soil pitch for the Sunrisers, just like they did for the power-packed Mumbai Indians. Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill laid the foundation with a 87-run opening stand.
Sudharsan got into the attacking mode early, thrashing Mohammed Shami for five fours in the third over of the innings. The Sunrisersdidn’t seem to have learnt their lessons with Pat Cumminsoffering Gill three half-volleys in the very next over. The Titans raced to 82/0 in the Powerplay overs.
Buttler shines
One of the main reasons for the Titans’ good run this season has been the presence of a solid top three in the batting line-up. The arrival of Jos Buttler has only strenghtened their top order.
Titans’ captain Gill and Buttler stitched together 62off 37 balls to keep the momentum going.
