Shubman Gill extended his impressive form at the Narendra Modi Stadium by achieving his first-ever IPL century against Sunrisers Hyderabad, securing a top-two placement for the Gujarat Titans. Thanks to Gill’s remarkable hundred, Gujarat amassed a substantial score of 188/9. Ultimately, this total proved sufficient, as SRH failed to reach the target.
GT’s opening bowling pair breathed fire into the opening pair as the duo of Mohamad Shami and Yash Dayal dismissed Anmolpreet Singh (5) and Abhishek Sharma (4), respectively. Shami came back in the third over to pick up another crucial wicket from SRH skipper Aiden Markram for a score of 10 (10). SRH batters Sanvir Singh and Heinrich Klaasen survived for the next two overs. But Shami was in no mood to let them settle. He came back in the seventh over to dismiss Sing for 7-6, which tightened GT’s grip on victory. SRH ended the power play with a score of 45-4.
Klaasen kept the scoreboard ticking by picking up boundaries at regular intervals. However, the rest of the players failed to support him at the other end. Indian youngster Abdul Samad had the perfect opportunity in front of him to make his mark in the IPL in 2023. He is known for his ability to strike the ball cleanly for sixes. But this time, Mohit Sharma was brought into the attack to ensure GT maintained full control over the game. With his experience, he picked up the wickets of Samad and Marco Jansen for scores of 4 (3) and 3 (6), respectively.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the last recognised batter for SRH. He held on to one end as Klaasen tried to find the boundaries. SRH was still in the chase until Klaasen was standing on the crease for the visitors. He scored a half-century in the 14th over under difficult circumstances. However, the margin between the number of balls and runs kept increasing.
The South African batter tried to clear the boundary, but his shot ended up straight into the hands of David Miller. Shami claimed his fourth wicket of the match. Klaasen’s heroic knock came to an end with a score of 64 (44). Bhuvneshwar Kumar failed to survive till the end as he became the third victim of Mohit Sharma.
SRH ended their knock with a score of 154/9.
The Gujarat Titans emerged victorious over Sunrisers Hyderabad by a margin of 34 runs, successfully defending their total of 188 against Hyderabad’s struggling batting lineup. Apart from Heinrich Klaasen and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, none of the SRH batters made significant contributions. On the other hand, Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma delivered outstanding performances with the ball for the Gujarat Titans, each claiming four wickets in an off-colour display by SRH.
With their ninth victory of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans have finally secured a place in the IPL 2023 playoffs. Pandya’s team defeated Aiden Markram’s SRH comfortably, ensuring a top-two finish in the tournament. As a result, SRH’s hopes of reaching the top four have come to an end, and they are now out of the tournament.
