IPL 2022: GT vs SRH Review – Gujarat pull off another unbelievable victory
Half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Aiden Markram and a maiden fifer from Umran Malik went in vain courtesy of some late heroics of Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia, who led the Gujarat Titans to a thrilling last-ball win in a tall chase at the Wankhede Stadium to snap Sunrisers Hyderabad’s four-match winning streak.
Having elected to field, the Titans’ bowlers controlled Sunrisers in parts but were guilty of not being able to sustain the choke for long enough as a 42-ball 65 from opener Abhishek and a 40-ball 56 from Markram established a base of a challenging target. An unbeaten quickfire cameo of 25 off just six powered the Sunrisers to 195 at the loss of six wickets, of which three were scalped by Mohammed Shami.
The Titans maintained the tempo of the chase thanks to a blazing half-century from opener Wriddhiman Saha, who slammed 11 fours and a six in his 68-run knock off merely 38, as he kept the flow of runs on despite losing partners at the other end frequently. Despite Saha’s brilliance, Umran Malik’s searing pace continued to trouble the Titans, with the youngster returning with exceptional figures of 5/25, including four clean bowled dismissals, which were enough to earn him a Player of the Match in a losing cause.
Stuck in a tricky situation with 47 needed off the last three overs, the Titans were bailed out by an unbeaten 59-run stand between Tewatia (40* off 21) and Rashid (31* off just 11) who held their nerves to see their team clinch their seventh win in eight games.
Top performs of the game
Wriddhiman Saha
While it is easy to forget Saha’s knock in the last-moment rush created by the Tewatia-Rashid duo, it was his knock that set up the chase for the Titans. Saha was involved in a crucial 69-run opening stand with Shubman Gill before also adding 37 for the third with David Miller.
Rashid Khan
Despite Saha’s well-paced knock at the top, the Titans were in danger of ending on the wrong side until the very last ball. With 22 needed off the last over, Rashid followed up Tewatia’s six on the first ball with three sixes to close the game on the last ball.
What next for the two teams?
Gujarat Titans next play the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium on April 30 while the Sunrisers Hyderabad will go against the Chennai Super King on May 1 at Pune’s MCA Stadium.
