Gujarat Titans 168 for 5 (Washington 50*, Sudharsan 56) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 86 all out (Rabada 3-18, Holder 3-21) by 82 runs
Gujarat’s dressing-room felt 168 might just be par, maybe a touch light. In the end it was miles enough. On a two-paced surface in Ahmedabad, Shubman Gill’s attack scythed through Sunrisers Hyderabad, bowling them out for 86 in 14.5 overs and nudging Titans to the top of the IPL table.
Key facts first. Kagiso Rabada and Jason Holder shared six wickets, Sunrisers slipped to 32 for 4 inside the powerplay, and the chase never recovered. The margin – 82 runs – tells its own story.
Afterwards Gill admitted the total was only just in the comfort zone. “Yes, we spoke about if we get anywhere close to 160-170, I think it won’t be easy for them – especially with our bowling attack, so that was the chat in the middle,” he said, crediting his quicks for striking early.
Earlier Washington Sundar and B Sai Sudharsan had dragged Titans up to a competitive score. Sudharsan, compact and organised, made 56; Washington started slowly, eight from nine, then sprinted to an unbeaten 50 from 33. Titans plundered 74 from the last seven overs. A lot of those came off inventive strokes: in the 19th, Eshan Malinga aimed for the block-hole, Washington scooped him over short fine for four and muscled another attempted yorker for six wide of square leg.
“I was just focusing on reading the situation,” Washington explained. “And obviously, the wicket was quite different from other games. So I just wanted to sort of understand what shots can be played on this wicket, and be successful. And also it was important for one of the set batters to play till the end. It helps. The plan was to not think much. That was honestly the plan.”
He chuckled when asked about the late flourish. “Until the 17th or 18th over, I didn’t really want to go all out. But, of course, in the last couple of overs, I tried to get as many boundaries as possible. Also sort of look to play the shots that would be possible on this wicket. But yeah, I mean, things went very well today.”
Sunrisers never looked settled against the hard new ball. Rahul Tripathi fenced Rabada behind, Abhishek Sharma miscued to mid-on, and by the time Aiden Markram edged Holder third slip, the contest felt done. A slow surface, varied lengths from the seamers and Rashid Khan’s leg-spin (2-12) finished the job.
From a table perspective Titans now have eight wins from eleven; SRH stay bunched in mid-pack. Next up for Gill’s men: Kolkata Knight Riders on 16 May – another stern test, though if the bowlers start like this, 160 might keep doing the trick.
