IPL 2024: Gujarat Titans vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 12th Match – Who Said What?

Gujarat Titans. (Source -IPL)

A complete performance from the batters and bowlers helped Gujarat Titans (GT) register their second win of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Batting first, the Pat Cummins-led side showed a lot of intent, but neither of the batters could capitalize on their starts. Mayank Agarwal’s poor form in the IPL 2024 continued as the opener made 16 runs off 17 deliveries, while his opening partner Travis Head hit 19 runs off 14 deliveries.

Later on, the likes of Abhishek Sharma (29 off 20), Heinrich Klaasen (24 off 13) and Abdul Samad (29 off 14) tried to get going but the Gujarat bowlers were brilliant with their line and length. Mohit Sharma picked up three wickets in the first innings, while Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad picked up one wicket each to restrict SRH to 162/8 after 20 overs.

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When it came to the chase, Wriddhiman Saha gave Gujrat a flying start. The keeper-batter smashed 25 runs off 13 deliveries, while his opening partner Shubman Gill made 36 runs off 28 deliveries. After they got back to the pavilion, Sai Sudarshan and David Miller took control of the situation as they made 45 and 44* runs respectively to help GT win the match by seven wickets.

Talking Points

1. Bowlers win matches

In the last match, SRH recorded the highest team total in IPL history. They made 277 runs against Mumbai Indians and which should have given the team a lot of confidence. However, against GT, they struggled for the majority of time as Mohit Sharma rocked their middle order. GT bowlers were brilliant on their home surface once again, which helped the side register their second win of the season.

2. SRH batters lacked character

After a brilliant batting display in the last match, SRH wanted to follow the same template, but that didn’t work out for them. Recently, there have been a lot of discussions regarding the role of an anchor in T20 cricket and looks like, that’s what SRH missed against GT. Aiden Markram tried to fit in that role but struggled massively as their batting ultimately let them down in the match.

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3. David Miller’s form boosts GT’s chances in IPL 2024

After Hardik Pandya’s ouster following a historic trade with Mumbai Indians, Gujarat need David Miller to have a grand season. He holds the key in the middle order, and the South Africa international scoring runs should give the team management some confidence. He made 44* runs off 27 deliveries against SRH, which helped GT win the game pretty comfortably, and the cricketer would also hope to keep up with it for the remainder of the season.

Who Said What?

Losing skipper Pat Cummins said:

Good game of cricket, was tight in the end, probably we needed 10-15 more runs. I think they bowled well, just losing a couple of wickets, didn’t have that one person who kicked on to get a fifty, that happens. Today it was, we thought the wicket was going to get a bit slow, the off-cutters did grip, we had 8 bowling options in our side. I thought the wicket played the same in both innings. It’s T20 cricket isn’t it? Had a fantastic couple of games with the bat, today we didn’t quite click.

Winning skipper Shubman Gill said:

To be able to win two matches at home, great. Hopefully we will have good momentum. The way our bowlers bowled in the middle overs, especially Noor and Rashid is a world-class bowler, and the way Drashan bowled a couple of overs was superb. (On Mohit) He’s such an experienced player, especially on wickets like these. He comes in, bowls those yorkers and slower balls. In this heat, it’s easier to score with the new ball. Our plan was to make them hit to the longer side. The ball was there to be hit, I was backing my shot, but the ball hit the bottom of the bat. In T20, you have to keep your options open. Everyone knows their roles, Sai has been playing well, Wriddhi bhai does well and Miller is back in form. Just cramps (on Miller’s status).

Player of the Match Mohit Sharma said:

Thank you sir for reminding me that I’m getting older day by day (chuckles). Practice is normal but the important thing is how to use the variation according to the game situation. Bowlers do have variations but it matters when and how to use it. It’s important when you have two balls in mind, the batters are also ready, they are ready for the slower ball but they are not ready for the slower short ball wide of the wicket. Dew is uncontrollable and we practice bowling with a wet ball. When it’s going good, I enjoy. When the match get overs, I like to reflect where I did well and where I didn’t. Rashid and Noor bowled well, we went for a few runs in the back end but we came back well in the final few overs.