Mumbai: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) riding on a brilliant half century by skipper Kane Williamson (57, 45b, 2×4, 4×6) and a fine knock by Abhishek Sharma (42, 32b, 6×4) defeated Gujarat Titans (GT) by eight wickets in their IPL encounter here Monday. Chasing a victory target, SRH easily touched the finish line with five deliveries to spare and scored 168 for the loss of two wickets in 19.1 overs. Earlier, Gujarat Titans after being put in had scored 162 for seven on the back of a fine unbeaten half century by captain Hardik Pandya (50 n o, 42b, 5×4, 1×6). However, that did not prove enough.
Incidentally it was the first win for SRH in this edition of the IPL while GT suffered their maiden defeat.
Abhishek and Williamson put on 64 runs for the opening and that laid the platform for an SRH victory. Nicholas Pooran (34 n o, 18b, 2x4k, 2×6) and Aiden Makram (12 n o) easily took their team over the finish line after the departure of Williamson.
Earlier Pandya’s responsible knock gave GT a competitive total. Hardik first forged a 40-run stand for the fourth wicket with David Miller (12) to rally the innings after the Titans had been reduced to 64/3 after eight overs. He then added 50 runs with Abhinav Mahonar (35, 21b, 5×4, 1×6) who justified his Rs 2.60 crore price tag. The partnership ensured that the Titans crossed the 160-run mark.
Manohar, who got three lives, hit five boundaries and one six in his short stay and particularly launched into T Natarajan (2/34) in the 18th over, where Gujarat amassed 23 runs.
However, it was an unusual Hardik knock, as he mixed caution with aggression to anchor the innings. The ‘all-rounder’ announced his arrival with a straight-drive off Natarajan to fetch his first boundary and then was brutal on Umran Malik (1/39), whom he hammered two successive boundaries in the eight over.
In the next over, Pandya clobbered Aiden Markaram for his only maximum over cow-corner. However, he controlled his instincts as wickets fell regularly at the other side.
The SRH attack largely kept Hardik at bay, as they did not allow him to free his arms in the last five overs and as a result it was Hardik’s slowest half century in the IPL.
Brief scores
Gujarat Titans 162 for 7 (Hardik Pandya 50 n o, Abhinav Manohar 35, T Natarajan 2/34, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/37) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 168 for 2 in 19.1 overs (Kane Williamson 57, Abhishek Sharma 42, Nicholas Pooran 34 n o) by eight wickets.
