Gujarat Titans put on an all-round show to beat high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad with a clinical seven-wicket win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Veteran Mohit Sharma was at his deceptive best in the final over for his stunning figures of 3/25, while Afghan spin twins Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad dominated the middle overs as GT restricted the marauding SRH to a modest 162/8 after Pat Cummins chose to bat. SRH must be disappointed with themselves after posting an astonishing 277 for five in their last outing.
South African batsman David Miller found his flair in his 44 not out off 27 balls to anchor the narrow chase despite cramps and wrapped up the match with a six off Jaydev Unadkat in the first ball of the final over.
Sai Sudharsan also improved his game and top scored for GT with his 45 off 36 balls as GT won with five balls to spare.
GT has now won both home games. Their only defeat was against Chennai Super Kings in an away match.
SRH have suffered two defeats and have two points from three matches with one win.
GT had things under control chasing the small target at their home venue and Wriddhiman Saha did his job to set the tone. He stepped to Bhvneshwar Kumar for a boundary and then pulled Jaydev Unadkat over square leg.
But Saha couldn’t convert his start and mistimed Shahbaz Ahmed to be sacked for 25 years.
From nine runs per over, GT suddenly found themselves struggling to pace the innings, with Sai Sudharsan generally slow at one end.
Gill looked fluid at the other end but Sudharsan was unable to rotate the strike and ate up many deliveries, putting pressure on his skipper.
Gill eventually threw away his wicket and holed out long-on to Abdul Samad in a soft dismissal.
With Miller also struggling to get going, the Cummins-led side took their chances at half-way, where GT were 78/2 and needed 85 from the back 10.
With 18 off 20 balls, Tamil Nadu youngster Sudharsan found himself at the receiving end again when he broke free against Unadkat in the 12th over and hit the left-arm pacer for a boundary.
Miller moved too quickly and the small target didn’t help SRH’s cause.
Fresh from breaking a record of 277 in their last match, SRH did well at 56/1 in the powerplay but young and experienced Afghan duo Noor (1/32) and Rashid (1/33) turned the match on . his header in the crucial 7-15th over phase.
Noor dismissed in-form SRH opener Travis Head (19), while Rashid sent back the explosive Heinrich Klaasen (24) before taking a beautiful forward diving catch at long-on to see the back of Aiden Markram (17).
After dismissing the in-form Abhishek Sharma in the 10th over, Mohit returned to shine at the death by taking two in two balls in the final over – Shahbaz Ahmed (22) and Washington Sundar (0).
The 35-year-old cleverly varied his pace, bowling wide yorker and slow off-cutters to quell SRH in the final over that saw three runs for three wickets, including Abdul Samad’s run-out (29).
The 2014 Purple Cap winner and 2015 World Cup semi-finalist Mohit, who returned from obscurity at GT two seasons ago, conceded just one boundary – a six – in his four overs.
In the last five overs, SRH scored just 40 runs and lost five wickets.
After plundering runs at an astonishing pace in their last match, the Orange Army had little hesitation in choosing to bat first and dictate the tempo of the match with Head up front.
The Australian southpaw continued to attack while Mayank Agarwal (16) again looked out of trouble before being dismissed by Azmatullah Omarzai.
Hero Abhishek of the last match defeated Rashid with two sixes on either side and it revived the memories of his last match partnership with Head.
But left-arm wrist spinner Noor bowled a great scoop to pin SRH back.
The in-form SRH opener Head unleashed a slog sweep when the 19-year-old Afghan spinner fooled him with a miscue. The ball pitched onto his off-stump before turning sharply inwards and crashing into the middle stump.
The runs suddenly dried up, with Rashid conceding just four runs from his second over, while both wrist spinners bowled excellently in succession to squeeze SRH in.
A masterful captaincy from Gill to bowl Mohit in the 10th over resulted in another wicket as the experienced seamer dismissed a well-placed Abhishek (29).
The left-hander cut the ball straight to Gill through extra cover in what seemed a perfect setup for the young Indian batsman.
But Klaasen ensured the silence would no longer last as he attacked the young Norwegian for two sloppy sweeps over the midwicket boundary in his final over.
However, Rashid had the last laugh when he interrupted SRH six-hitting machine Klaasen’s innings in the 14th over.
The South African completely missed Rashid’s googly only to be cleared against the run of play.
In the next over, Rashid made the difference with his brilliant diving catch from deep to dismiss Aiden Markram (17).
Markram took charge of a slower delivery from Yadav when Rashid had been running forward from long on and adjusted at the last minute to make a stunning diving catch that tumbled forward.
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