IPL 2023, DC vs GT: Hardik Pandya hails Sai Sudharsan post-Gujarat Titans' triumph over Delhi Capitals
IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans led a strong fightback against Delhi Capitals, winning by six wickets in Delhi on Tuesday, thanks to a glorious unbeaten match-winning knock by Sai Sudharsan that was hailed by visiting skipper Hardik Pandya.
FollowDefending champion Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya sees teammate Sai Sudharsan doing "great things" in franchise cricket in the next few years. Sudharsan made an unbeaten 62 off 48 balls as Titans tamed Delhi Capitals for its second conquest in as many games of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL).
"He [Sudharsan] has been batting terrifically. Credit to the support staff and him as well. The amount of batting he's done in the last 15 days, all the result you see is all his hard work. If I'm not wrong, in two years, he'll do something great for franchise cricket and eventually for India," declared Pandya during the post-match presentation.
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He expressed the winsome mantra for him is to endow his intuitions. Opting to bowl, Pandya made some innovative bowling changes, restricting home team DC to 162/8 before succeeding in the contest by six wickets with 11 deliveries to spare. "It is my instinct. I like to back myself. I'd rather back myself and fall than take others' decisions. I'd rather land the first punch than take the first punch," Sudarshan spoke.
In pursuit of 163, GT lost its key wickets of Shubman Gill and Pandya to be 54/3 within the PowerPlay (PP). But, 21-year-old Sai Sudharshan showed refined composure to anchor the chase with an unbeaten endeavour. Pandya said it had a "funny" start and gave away 15-20 runs extra in the PP.
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"It was a little funny at the start. We didn't know what was happening, but something was happening. We gave away 15-20 runs more in the powerplay. But, our bowlers did well to bounce back," added Pandya. It was its second failure on the DC trot, losing the season opener to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
DC captain David Warner blamed the conditions: "It swung more than I anticipated. Losing wickets in the PowerPlay can be a struggle. They [GT] showed how to adapt to the situation, which was a learning for us. We have got six more games here and anticipate the swing upfront. They bowled extremely well. We were in the game, but Sai batted extremely well, and David Miller took it away." Strangely, Warner refrained from using Axar Patel while bowling, saying it was a match-up approach.
(With inputs from PTI)
