Gujarat Titans (GT) bowlers dismantle misfiring Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on the way to an emphatic win
Gujarat Titans – 168/5 (Sai Sudharsan 61 off 44 balls, Washington Sundar 50 off 33 balls) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad – 86 (Kagiso Rabada 28/3, Jason Holder 20/3) by 82 runs
Man of the Match: Kagiso Rabada
The 56th IPL league match between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) was a clash of two contrasting styles of play, each effective in its own way. GT prefer a steady approach, while SRH choose to be ultra-aggressive. The pitch in Ahmedabad, aiding the pacers, seemed more suited to GT. Their batsmen managed to put up a competitive score, which eventually proved far too many against their top-notch bowling attack.
Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar both made impressive half-centuries to put up a score of 168/5. The pace attack bowled with fire and blew away the SRH top order to effectively end the match by the halfway stage.
SRH bowlers exert control in opening stage
SRH won the toss and elected to field first, as most teams do in this year’s IPL. SRH started the season with a struggling bowling attack. But with the addition of Pat Cummins, support from Malinga and the emergence of young Indian fast bowlers in the team, they have transformed the team from the one-trick pony that relied heavily on their top order in the initial matches.
Cummins was right on the target from the first over, while Nitish Reddy, bowling the second over, dropped a difficult caught and bowled chance off Shubman Gill. But it was Hinge, expensive in his last few matches, who put the brakes on the scoring with a couple of early wickets.
First, Gill hit a full incoming ball uppishly towards mid-on, where Klaasen pouched a smart catch. Then Buttler went for a cute scoop towards the leg side, but managed to get a nick which was caught by the wicketkeeper. The umpire initially signalled a wide, but Hinge was adamant that it had touched the bat, while keeper Ishan had no idea regarding the edge. The review was taken, and there was a clear spike as the ball passed the bat. The powerplay score was 34/2, and GT had lost 2 crucial wickets and were struggling to score against the accurate seamers.
Nishant Sindhu was sent at no. 4, playing only his 2nd IPL innings. He immediately brought some urgency to the scoring. Two cracking shots on the onside for four off Hinge later, he dispatched Reddy over deep midwicket with an imperious pull. Next ball, a crafty ramp was almost brilliantly caught by Hinge at the boundary, whose momentum carried him over the rope, but he managed to put the ball back in the field and stop it from going for six. Just when he was looking dangerous, he lofted a Cummins delivery straight to long off and departed for 22 off 14 balls.
Sudharsan and Sundar steady the innings
GT were 68/3 at the end of 10 overs and Washington Sundar came in at number 5, a position that seemed better suited to him than the number 4 that he had to bat earlier in the season. Both Sudharsan and Sundar assessed that this was not a 200 pitch and tried to bat according to the situation. Sudharsan, who had been batting at just above a run a ball, decided to take more risk. More of an old-fashioned player, he prefers to get set before playing the more aggressive strokes.
A couple of sixers followed, first a fierce cut off a Malinga short ball over backward point and then a lofted drive off a Sakib Hussain slower delivery over long off. Preferring to play more square of the wicket, he was eventually dismissed by Hussain, going for a reverse scoop and getting into a tangle to loft a catch straight to short third. He had scored 61 off 44 balls.
Meanwhile, Sundar was playing an identical innings. Almost run a ball till Sudharsan was there, and then took a more aggressive route. Making good use of his wrists, he played all around the wicket, his offside play being especially attractive to watch. He took Malinga apart in the 19th over as he first pulled a short delivery for four. The fifth and sixth balls were near yorkers. The first was scooped neatly towards fine leg for a boundary and the next was somehow flicked over deep square leg for an incredible six. He was eventually dismissed for an even 50 off 33 balls, baffled by an off-pace delivery by the ever-impressive Sakib Hussain.
GT finished with 168/5. They would have been aware that while the score was adequate, six overs of Travishek mayhem could easily wipe off more than half of it. Taking wickets was the only way they could win this game.
GT bowlers destroy SRH top order
The first over bowled by Siraj would not have been out of place in an Australia vs India opening day Test match. With some luck, any of the first three deliveries could have produced a wicket as Travis Head was repeatedly beaten. The fourth ball induced a leading edge as the ball travelled exactly opposite to its intended target and was pouched by the deep backward point fielder, and Head departed for a four-ball duck.
Abhishek started by confidently lofting Rabada over long off for a six. Immediately, the bowler brought back his length and had him playing and missing. Trying to give himself room, Abhishek moved towards the legside, but Rabada followed him with a short ball at his body, which hit him on the arm, then the leg and managed to roll back on to the stumps. It was an unlucky way to go, but the bowler deserved the wicket for bowling intelligently.
Siraj could have had Ishan caught by Rabada at mid-on, but the fielder mistimed his jump, and the ball travelled quickly to the boundary. Next over, Rabada made amends as he bowled a 148kmph lifter, and Ishan nicked behind to the keeper. It all resembled a test match played under lights, as two quality pacers kept on testing the batsmen. Next batsman Ravichandran Smaran scratched around for some time, but could not get going. He was dropped near long leg off Rabada, as Siraj misjudged the trajectory of the ball. A couple of balls later in the same over, Smaran lobbed a full ball straight to mid-off, and SRH finished the powerplay at 34/4.
With the required run rate touching 10, Klaasen had the unenviable task of not losing his wicket and also of keeping on scoring at a rapid pace. Salil Arora, the number 6 batsman, was lucky as he almost played on to a Rabada delivery, but the stumps did not dislodge as the ball rolled to the stumps. However, he was soon snared by Prasidh, who was back in his wicket-taking ways.
Next over, Klaasen top-edged a short ball from Holder to be caught by wicketkeeper Buttler, and with 113 runs required in 59 balls, with 4 wickets remaining, the match was effectively over. Nitish Reddy departed in the same over, caught by a juggling Sundar at point. Holder had Shivang Kumar scooping the ball straight to the wicketkeeper in his next over to finish with 20/3.
Cummins tried gamely to reduce the margin of defeat and was caught off a leading edge to third man off Prasidh’s bowling. Rashid bowled his solitary over in the 15th over and finished off the innings with a stumping. SRH were bowled out within 89 balls and scored 86 runs. To put matters in perspective, out of the 89 balls bowled, there were 54 dots. Aggressive batting is fine as long as the pitch allows it. In more bowler-friendly conditions, batsmen need to calibrate their approach according to the situation.
GT are sitting pretty at the top of the table. At the beginning of the season, with their safety-first approach, some would have discounted their chances of winning the IPL. But they have stuck to their approach, and it appears to be working. On pitches offering something for the bowlers, they are a match for any team and remain one of the favourites.