Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Gujarat Titans: Sunrisers handed Gujarat Titans their first loss of the season
Sunrisers Hyderabad fans can smell their comeback in the season. They had a clinical victory over Chennai Super Kings a few days back, and now Gujarat has been defeated by eight wickets. Sunrisers Hyderabad registered their second consecutive win to land Gujarat Titans their first loss.
Nicholas Pooran in formA Sloppy performance by Gujarat
Kane Williamson chose to bowl after winning the toss. Gujarat Titans had a quivery start as Hyderabad's star pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar got the team the early breakthrough in the form of Shubman Gill (7). Just before the power play ends, T Natarajan takes Sai Sudarshan for just 11 runs. Skipper Hardik Pandya took to crease with opener Matthew Wade in an attempt to build a partnership; however, Umran Malik's pace caught Matthew Wade for an LBW. Hardik Pandya then stitched two significant partnerships, 33-ball 40 with David Miller followed by 32-ball 50 with Abhinav Manohar. With the skipper ticking runs on the scoreboard, the other wickets kept falling. Rahul Tewatia got run out for six runs, Rashid Khan bowled for a duck by Natarajan, whereas the skipper completed his 50 to remain not out. The team somehow posted a total of 162/7.
The orange army gave a hard time to Gujarat's bowlers.
Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson opened the innings for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Gujarat started well with the new ball to keep openers on the back foot, but once the batters settled, they went on to score freely. Rashid Khan got their first break in the form of Abhishek Sharma, who played an attacking knock of 32-ball 42 by smashing six boundaries. Rahul Tripathi joined the captain but got retired hurt, following which Nicholas Pooran got on the crease. Kane Williamson played a steady knock of 57 runs when the opposition's captain took him for a slower ball. However, most of the job was done with a bit left for Pooran and Aiden Markram to complete. Nicholas Pooran found his form to play the winning six as he made 34 runs to land the team on the victory line.
A good performance by Hyderabad. First with the ball, as they succeeded in restricting Gujarat Titans from hitting big shots or making partnerships. Secondly, by being cautious and calculative while chasing. Gujarat Titans will be itching to bounce back in a clash against Rajasthan Royals on 14th April, whereas Sunrisers Hyderabad will be looking to maintain their winning streak against Kolkata Knight Riders on 15th April.