In the 40th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Gujarat Titans (GT) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by five wickets at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
After winning the toss, captain Hardik Pandya opted to field first. It was a tough day for bowlers at the new fresh pitch at the Wankhede but still, GT managed to get a few wickets in the middle overs. Mohammad Shami, Alzarri Joseph and Yash Dayal were the Gujarat based bowlers to find wickets in the first inning.
Once again opener Abhishek Sharma (65) got off to a brilliant start. With six fours and three sixes, Sharma got SRH to a wonderful start. Rahul Tripathi (16) was also looking in fine touch and got 2 fours and one six. Along with him, Aiden Markram (56) was the star batsman for SRH as he took the team to a respectable position from where they were struggling before. In the end, Shashank Singh (25*) hammered three consecutive sixes in the final over to take SRH to a total of 195/6 in 20 overs.
Chasing 196, Both the openers got off to a great start as Wriddhiman Saha (68) and Shubman Gill (22) delivered quick runs in the powerplay for GT. Although Gill got out in the eighth over, Saha continued the assault on the bowlers. With eleven fours and just one six, Saha hammered bowlers all around the park. Scoring at 178.95, the right-handed batsman was back in form after a few loose innings. No one really got going from the middle order but it was once again Rahul Tewatia (40*) who held nerves and took the game down the wire. The southpaw hit four fours and two sixes to keep GT in the game. Along with the left-handed batsman, Rashid Khan, who just joined Tewatia in the 17th over, won the game for GT. An unbelievable knock from the former SRH player was a treat to every cricket fan across the globe. Khan smashed four sixes from which three came in the final over. His quickfire knock helped GT win the game over SRH.
Mohammed Shami managed to scalp three wickets in his quota of four overs. Along with Shami, Yash Dayal and Alzarri Joseph got one wicket each. For SRH, it was just Umran Malik who got wickets on the pitch where almost every batter was scoring maximums. The youngster got five wickets and four of them were clean bowled.
It was an unusual presentation as Umran Malik received the Man of the Match award. A rare occasion where the player from the losing team gets the prestigious trophy.
With this win, Gujarat Titans get to 14 points and still remain at the top of the table.
Scorecard:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 195/6, Overs 20, Aiden Markram 56, Mohammad Shami 3/39
Gujarat Titans: 199/5, Overs 20, Wriddhiman Saha 68, Umran Malik 5/25