Sunrisers Hyderabad broke Gujarat Titans three-match winning streak with an eight-wicket win in the Indian Premier League, with captain Kane Williamson leading with a solid 57, while Nicholas Pooran put the finishing touches on a late bloom on Monday. Hardik Pandya’s undefeated 50 had taken Gujarat Titans to 162 for 7 after being sent off to battle, but that would never be enough as Williamson, who hit his first fifty of the season, anchored the Sunrisers’ pursuit as they took the lead. line in 19.1 overs.
Sunrisers thus recorded their second consecutive win after beating Chennai Super Kings last Saturday, while it was the Titan’s first loss after a hat-trick of wins.
Williamson, whose 46-ball knockout was dotted with two fours and four sixes, first added 64 runs with opener Abhishek Sharma (42 from 32 balls) to lay the groundwork for the win.
Williamson then forged a 40-run tie with Rahul Tripathi, who was injured at 17, to get closer to victory.
Pooran (34 not out of 18 balls) sealed the deal with his brutal blow after Williamson was over in the 17th. His innings was made up of two fours and a tie of sixes. He hit a six to end the game and took his side to 168 for 2 in 19.1 overs.
There were two game-changing moments. First, in the 13th over, Williamson launched into Hardik Pandya by hitting him two sixes. Then, bowled over by Lockie Ferguson in the 16th, the Sunrisers captain hit a six and a limit as SRH headed for goal.
Previously, captain Pandya’s responsible 50 out of 42 balls helped Gujarat Titans post a competitive 162 for 7 after a failure of the highest order.
Invited to bat, Hardik first forged a 40-run fourth wicket stand with David Miller (12) to round up the innings after the top three batters failed to convert their starts as Gujarat was in trouble on 64/3 after eight surpluses.
Hardik then added 50 runs with Abhinav Mahonar, who justified his price tag of Rs 2.60 crore with his quick fire of 35 from 21 balls, to ensure the Titans crossed the 150-run mark.
Manohar, who got three lives, reached five limits and one six during his short stay, especially launching T Natarajan (2/34) in the 18th over, where Gujarat amassed 13 runs.
It was an unusual knock from Hardik, however, as he mixed caution with aggression to anchor the innings.
The all-rounder announced his arrival with a straight drive from Natarajan to make his first mark and then was brutal on Umran Malik (1/39), who crossed two straight lines in the eight for nine runs.
In the next over, he hit Aiden Markram for his lone maximum over cow-corner, but Hardik had no partners as SRH kept striking at regular intervals.
The SRH attack largely kept Hardik at bay as they didn’t allow him to free his arms in the last five overs and as a result it was Hardik’s slowest fifty in the IPL.
Earlier, opener Matthew Wade earned his first boundary thanks to a thick outside edge in the first over where Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/37) gave up 17 runs, 12 of which were extras.
But Gujarat cheaply lost Wade (19), Shubman Gill (7) and one-down batter Sai Sudarshan (11).
Gill was undone by a stunning one-handed dive by Rahul Tripathi in cover, at Bhuvneshwar, in the third over.
Sudarshan, looking rusty, became Natarajan’s first victim after flying halfway to Kane Williamson.
promoted
Wade, who hammered three limits, was caught for the wicket after missing a tap from a fuller delivery by Malik in the eighth over.
Then it was Hardik and Manohar’s show as Gujarat added 82 runs in the last 10 overs.
Topics mentioned in this article
