Gujarat Titans strengthen playoff push after SRH batting meltdown |

GT PACERS BREAK SRH

Siraj struck in the very first over, dismissing Travis Head with a wicket maiden to immediately put SRH under pressure. At the other end, Rabada was briefly attacked by Abhishek Sharma, who smashed him for a six off the first ball he faced. But the South African responded instantly, cramping the left-hander for room and forcing an inside edge onto the stumps.

Rabada continued his burst by removing two more batters, including Ishan Kishan, inside the powerplay, effectively breaking the backbone of SRH’s chase. While both teams scored at a similar rate in the first six overs, Gujarat’s advantage came from the wickets column.

Rabada’s spell also took his tally to 16 powerplay wickets this season, the most by any bowler in the tournament. Siraj, meanwhile, built pressure relentlessly from the other end, bowling 12 dot balls.

The assistance for seamers never disappeared. Even in the middle overs, the ball continued to move around, allowing Jason Holder to exploit the conditions perfectly. The tall all-rounder repeatedly hit hard lengths and extracted awkward bounce to keep SRH pinned down.

Even Heinrich Klaasen, SRH’s leading run-scorer this season, failed to make an impact as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. The innings eventually folded for just 86 in 14.5 overs.

SAI-SUNDAR ANCHOR GT

Earlier, Gujarat Titans themselves had struggled to settle after being asked to bat first. Praful Hinge once again impressed with the new ball and helped SRH make early inroads. Gujarat lost both Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler cheaply and registered their lowest powerplay score of the season.

Youngster Nishant Sindhu tried to inject momentum into the innings with a positive cameo. The Haryana batter attacked from the outset and scored quickly before Pat Cummins dismissed him for 22.

Sai Sudharsan then took charge of the innings alongside Washington Sundar. On a seam friendly surface, Sudharsan focused initially on strike rotation and smart placement before accelerating later in the innings.

The left-hander brought up his 17th IPL fifty in 38 balls and also reclaimed the Orange Cap from Heinrich Klaasen in the process. More importantly, he crossed the 500-run mark for the third successive IPL season.

After Sudharsan departed, Sundar provided the finishing push. The all-rounder played several eye-catching strokes despite the difficult batting conditions, especially against Eshan Malinga in the 19th over when he twice lost balance but still managed to guide the ball to the boundary.

Their partnership helped Gujarat recover from a shaky start and post what eventually proved to be a match-winning total.

The emphatic victory lifted Gujarat Titans to the top of the points table with 16 points and put them within touching distance of playoff qualification. With two league games remaining, both against fellow playoff contenders, GT now hold a strong advantage in the race to the top four.

For Sunrisers Hyderabad, however, the defeat will be difficult to digest. After winning the toss and bowling first in favourable conditions, they would have expected to chase down 169 comfortably. Instead, their batting unit crumbled under pressure in dramatic fashion.

This leaves them with plenty of questions ahead of their final two matches, both of which also come against teams fighting for playoff spots.

– Ends

Published On:

May 12, 2026 23:26 IST

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