CHENNAI: B Sai Sudharsan (45) and David Miller (44 n.o from 27 balls) stepped up with the bat as Gujarat Titans beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Chasing 163, Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha provided what was needed by the Titans. The duo ensured at least one boundary came ever over as GT cruised to 36/0 in four overs. That is when, Shahbaz Ahmed, having changed ends, struck to get the big wicket of Saha.
While Gill tried to keep the momentum going by hitting Shahbaz into the stands, it was not easy. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sai Sudharsan kept it tight and with pressure building Gill tried to take on Mayank Markande only to find the fielder. Joined by Miller, Sai Sudharsan, who had come in as an impact player, took time to build the partnership.
Between overs 9-13, they added only 26 runs and were not bothered too much about the run rate. It was only after 15 overs, GT needed 49 runs in five at that point, that they put the pedal on the accelerator.
Miller hit Markande for consecutive fours before he and Sai Sudharsan hit a six each in the same over. All of a sudden, it was down to 25 needed from 24 balls. Even though Sai Sudharsan got out for 45 from 36, Miller and Vijay Shankar kept their cool to take the Titans home.
Opting to bat first, Travis Head and Mayank Agarwal took on the bowlers.
First, Head hit Azmatullah Omarzar for two fours before picking up a four off Umesh Yadav. When it looked like SRH were running away in the powerplay, Omarzai dismissed Agarwal for 16 from 17 balls. Abhishek Sharma welcomed Rashid Khan with back-to-back sixes, picking up from where he left in the game against Mumbai Indians.
However, Noor Ahmed cleaned up Head with a googly. Noor, along with Rashid, put the brakes on SRH. Mohit Sharma reaped the rewards by dismissing Abhishek for 29 from 20 balls. Even as Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen tried to get going, it was not easy. Meanwhile, Klaasen hit Noor for consecutive sixes to turn the momentum on his side.
Shubman Gill brought back Rashid and he delivered with the wicket off Klaasen, who scored 24 runs from 13 balls.
Umesh Yadav doubled down by dismissing Markram in the very next over, putting SRH on the backfoot. Although Abdul Samad started off with two fours but he and Shahbaz Ahmed could not sustain the momentum in the death overs as SRH finished with 162/7. Abdul Samad was unbeaten on 29 from 14 balls.
