In game number 40 of IPL 2022, Gujarat Titans (GT) have won the top spot in the points standings after a last-ball drama against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
GT skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl first. In the powerplay, SRH were reduced to 44/2 before Abhishek Sharma and Aiden Markram came to the rescue with a 96-run third-wicket stand.
Before being dismissed, Sharma scored 65 runs off 42 deliveries and the Orange Army’s batting collapsed after that. However, Markram single-handedly anchored the innings and guided his team to a respectable score of 195/6.
In response, openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill built a solid platform with a 69-run opening stand. With a quickfire 38-ball 68, the youngster wrecked havoc, dismissing skipper Pandya and a well-set Saha.
The young bowler showed no signs of slowing down as he dispatched David Miller and Abhinav Manohar for his first five-wicket haul. As a result, he shattered Gujarat’s backbone and put Hyderabad on track for a sixth consecutive victory.
As the match neared its conclusion, SRH remained in command, with GT requiring 22 runs from the final over. Marco Jansen was given the final over job and he was up against two hard-hitters Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia. The pair clobbered Jansen for four sixes in an over, with Rashid getting the job done for his team this time.
Thus, GT kept their top spot in the points standings with seven victories from eight matches, 14 points, and an NRR of 0.371 thanks to the last-ball thriller. While SRH looks settled at the 3rd spot with 10 points in 8 games.
IPL 2022: GT defeated SRH by 5 wickets: Post-Match reaction
After the match the winning captain Hardik Pandya said
“I keep joking in the dressing room that God is telling us ‘You guys are good, I’ll help you’. It’s happening so often that I fear we may run out of luck in the knockout games.”
“We keep a very chilled atmoshphere and everyone is stepping up. We’re ensuring that the players are backed well.”
The GT skipper further added saying
“It’s a long tournament and I don’t want to get too excited early. We’re quite practical, we’ve spoken about winning these situations and there is a lot of self-belief in the camp. It’s important to keep the calm in the dugout, lot of credit goes to the support staff for how they’ve been handling the players.”
Meanwhile, SRH captain Kane Williamson said
“It was a fantastic game of cricket that ebbed and flowed throughout the 40 overs, it’s a game of very fine margins. Could have gone either ways, but a great learning for us.”
“There’s a lot of learning for us, but with two strong sides such things happen. He (Jansen) will bounce back nicely, there have been a number of games like these. Sometimes you are blown away by the better side, credit to them (Gujarat) as they played outstandingly well.”
What’s next for Gujarat and Hyderabad?
GT will lock horns with RCB on the 30th of April, in the first match of the double-header Saturday.
While SRH will take on the defending champions CSK on the 1st of May, in a Sunday night game.
