GT vs SRH: Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia rescue Sunrisers Hyderabad in a last-ball thriller
The Gujarat Titans pulled off a heist at the renowned Wankhede Stadium with the help of their trademark finisher Rahul Tewatia and Afghanistan superstar Rashid Khan.
After an incredible batting performance in the death overs, Rashid Khan sealed the deal for Gujarat Titans with a flashy six over the fine leg on the match's last ball.
Gujarat Titans defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were looking for their sixth consecutive IPL win, by five wickets on Wednesday to reclaim their top spot in the standings with 14 points to their name.
Abhishek Sharma and Aiden Markram's fifties take Sunrisers Hyderabad to 195
After being sent to bat first, Sunrisers Hyderabad decided to take it off from the start with ambitions of a 200+ target for their opponent.
However, the first hit to their plan struck when the veteran Mohammed Shami took out captain Kane Williamson in the third over. Rahul Tripathi met the same fate two overs later, but Abhishek Sharma was in no mood to slow down.
The opener finally found a stable partnership with Aiden Markram, and together the duo clubbed 96 runs for the third wicket to set the stage for Sunrisers Hyderabad's colossal total.
Abhishek Sharma departed in the 16th over after a brilliant knock of 65 runs off of 42 balls. Nicholas Pooran then came to the crease but left quickly, with Aiden Markram following in the 18th over after an all-important inning of 56 runs.
It was the first time batter Shashank Singh shocked the Gujarat camp with a spectacular inning of 25 runs off only six balls to lead Hyderabad to a 195 total.
Rashid Khan hits a screamer on the last ball to take Gujarat Titans home.
Sunrisers Hyderabad looked in a comfortable spot after posting a 196 runs target for the Gujarat Titans.
Gujarat Titans started strong with their in-form opener Shubman Gill and wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha, keeping their side well within the asking run rate in the power play overs.
However, 22-year-old Umran Malik was patiently waiting for his turn. Skipper Kane Williamson, unable to find a breakthrough in the first seven overs, gave the ball to Malik.
The fireworks started in the first over as Malik bowled over 150 km/h and found the first breakthrough for Sunrisers Hyderabad on the fourth ball by uprooting Shubman Gill's off pole at 22 runs.
Malik set the foundation for his five-wicket haul, looked for more preys, and got what he wanted in his next over as he sent Gujarat skipper Hardik Pandya back to the dugout for just ten runs.
However, Saha anchored himself on the other and kept Gujarat well within the asking rate. But not for long, as Malik returned on the 14th over and provided his team with another vital wicket. With an unplayable yorker at nearly 153 km/h, he ended Saha's stinging 38-ball knock of 68 runs.
Malik returned after the 15th over to bowl his final over and rattled Gujarat's batting line-up once again. He took out David Miller and Abhinav Manohar in one go.
Things looked grim for Gujarat Titans as 56 runs were required off four overs. But Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan had other plans in mind. The duo changed the face of the match with their brilliant batting and pummeled Marco Jansen for 22 runs in the final over to take Gujarat Titans to a five-wicket win at the Wankhede Stadium.
With this win, Gujarat Titans have reclaimed their top spot in the IPL standings after Rajasthan Royals slipped over them for a brief time yesterday. Now, Gujarat will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 30.
Whereas Sunrisers Hyderabad, who got their five matches winning streak broken, will look back to winning ways against Chennai Super Kings on May 1.
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