Sai Sudharsan’s consistency of late could very soon make him a household name. Recording his third half-century in the ongoing edition of the IPL, the left-hander (82 off 53 balls) laid the foundation for the Gujarat Titans’ comprehensive 58-run victory over the Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Jos Buttler and M. Shahrukh Khan assisted Sudharsan with 36 runs apiece off 25 and 20 balls, respectively, before Rahul Tewatia’s unbeaten 24 off just 12 balls pushed the Titans’ total to 217/6 after the Royals won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Pacer Prasidh Krishna (3/24) starred with the ball, while leg-spinner Rashid Khan struck twice as the Titans limited their opponents to 159, moving to the top of the standings with eight points. For the Royals, this was the first time since mid-May 2023 that they were all out.
Innings of quality
Whenever Sudharsan has gone past fifty in the IPL, his innings has been studded with mainly copybook shots relying more on timing and placement than power. En route to his third fifty-plus score in this edition on Wednesday, there was a bit of shift in terms of his stroke-making.
He attempted the lap shot and executed it to perfection. He was successful with the upper-cuts too, alongside taking the aerial route against Theekshana in particular.
Of his eight boundaries and three maximums, what stood out was the couple of sixes he played, closing the face of the bat and carving those deliveries over point. Importantly, he held firm against Jofra Archer, who again bowled a fiery first spell with the wicket of Titans captain Shubman Gill.
“I am not trying to be consistent but trying to react well to create more chances than going flat,” Sudharsan said.
Crucial strikes
The Royals’ hopes were still afloat when captain Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer launched a mini-recovery with their counterpunch after they were 68/4 in the eighth over. But in the 13th over, Prasidh had Samson perishing at short third man. The Royals couldn’t revive their hopes thereafter.
Focusing on hitting the deck hard, Prasidh extracted awkward bounce from the surface and accounted for both Archer and Hetmyer in the 16th over that practically wrapped the game up forthe Titans.
Earlier, Arshad Khan picked up the key wicket of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, while Mohammed Siraj dismissed Nitish Rana.
