Gujarat Titans (GT) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to earn their second victory of the season thanks to a full outing from both bats and bowlers. With the bat, the team led by Pat Cummins showed a lot of intent, but neither batter was able to build on their starts. Travis Head scored 19 runs off of 14 deliveries in the opening game, but Mayank Agarwal’s terrible performance in the IPL 2024 continued. The opener scored 16 runs off of 17 deliveries.
Abdul Samad (29 off 14), Heinrich Klaasen (24 off 13), and Abhishek Sharma (29 off 20) attempted to make an impact later on, but the Gujarat spinners’ line and length were exceptional. In the first innings, Mohit Sharma claimed three wickets, while Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Rashid Khan, and Noor Ahmad each claimed one wicket to limit the SRH to 162/8 after 20 overs.
Wriddhiman Saha gave Gujrat a tremendous head start in the chase. In contrast to his opening partner, Shubman Gill, who scored 36 runs off of 28 deliveries, the keeper-batter hammered 25 off 13 deliveries. Sai Sudarshan and David Miller seized charge of the situation after returning to the pavilion, scoring 45 and 44 runs, respectively, to help GT win the match by seven wickets.
Speaking Points
1. Bowlers win games.
In the most recent game, SRH achieved the highest team total in IPL history. Their 277 runs against the Mumbai Indians should have instilled a great deal of confidence in the team. They did not, however, have much luck against GT, as Mohit Sharma shook their middle order. The team achieved its second victory of the year because of the outstanding performance of the GT bowlers on their home pitch.
2. The SRH bats were uncommon.
SRH attempted to replicate their outstanding batting performance from the previous game, but their plan was unsuccessful. There has been a lot of talk lately about the need for anchors in Twenty20 cricket, and it appears that SRH failed to provide one against GT. Despite Aiden Markram’s best efforts to fill that role, their batting ultimately cost them the game.
3. GT’s chances in the IPL 2024 are improved by David Miller’s form
Gujarat needs David Miller to have a successful season after Hardik Pandya was benched after a historic deal with the Mumbai Indians. With the South African international scoring runs, the team management should feel more confident about him as the middle-order essential. In a rather easy victory over SRH, GT amassed 44 runs off just 27 deliveries, and the cricketer would aim to maintain that pace for the rest of the season.
Also read: For the next few weeks, Mayank Yadav will be the talk of the town: Nicholas Pooran
Who Said What?
Losing skipper Pat Cummins said:
Good game of cricket, was tight in the end, probably we needed 10-15 more runs. I think they bowled well, just losing a couple of wickets, didn’t have that one person who kicked on to get a fifty, that happens. Today it was, we thought the wicket was going to get a bit slow, the off-cutters did grip, we had 8 bowling options in our side. I thought the wicket played the same in both innings. It’s T20 cricket isn’t it? Had a fantastic couple of games with the bat, today we didn’t quite click.
Winning skipper Shubman Gill said:
To be able to win two matches at home, great. Hopefully we will have good momentum. The way our bowlers bowled in the middle overs, especially Noor and Rashid is a world-class bowler, and the way Drashan bowled a couple of overs was superb. (On Mohit) He’s such an experienced player, especially on wickets like these. He comes in, bowls those yorkers and slower balls. In this heat, it’s easier to score with the new ball. Our plan was to make them hit to the longer side. The ball was there to be hit, I was backing my shot, but the ball hit the bottom of the bat. In T20, you have to keep your options open. Everyone knows their roles, Sai has been playing well, Wriddhi bhai does well and Miller is back in form. Just cramps (on Miller’s status).
Player of the Match, Mohit Sharma, said:
Thank you sir for reminding me that I’m getting older day by day (chuckles). Practice is normal but the important thing is how to use the variation according to the game situation. Bowlers do have variations but it matters when and how to use it. It’s important when you have two balls in mind, the batters are also ready, they are ready for the slower ball but they are not ready for the slower short ball wide of the wicket. Dew is uncontrollable and we practice bowling with a wet ball. When it’s going good, I enjoy. When the match get overs, I like to reflect where I did well and where I didn’t. Rashid and Noor bowled well, we went for a few runs in the back end but we came back well in the final few overs.
India
