IPL 2023: Sai Sudharsan's heroics ensure 2 in a row for GT, hammers DC by 6 wickets
IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans continued its flawless start to its title defence, scripting two opening wins, as it slapped Delhi Capitals by six wickets in Delhi on Tuesday. Sai Sudarshan's heroics with the bat played a crucial role in the victory.
FollowDefending champion Gujarat Titans (GT) continued its fine start to its title defence in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). Match 6 against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi was a competitive clash between the two sides, especially with the Delhi wicket being a typical sluggish one. While batting second was a tedious task on the track, Sai Sudarshan played a composed yet brilliant knock of an unbeaten 62 to see off the visitors by six wickets, while the hosts lost their opening two ties.
Winning the toss, GT skipper Hardik Pandya opted to bowl, as DC was off to a nervous start, losing a couple for 37 by the fifth over of the PowerPlay (PP). Skipper-cum-opener David Warner (37) and Sarfaraz Khan (30) added 30 for the third wicket before the former fell to pacer Alzarri Joseph in the ninth.
CATCH ALL IPL 2023 UPDATES HERE
While it was down to 67/4 by the same over, Sarfaraz and Abishek Porel (20) contributed 34 more for the fifth wicket to keep the scoreboard ticking. In the 13th, the latter was knocked over by leg-spinner Rashid Khan, followed by another 29-run partnership between Sarfaraz and Axar Patel (36) before the former departed in the 17th to the same man.
Thereon, Axar put on a show as wickets continued to tumble, with DC finishing on a par total of 162/8. For GT, seamer Mohammed Shami and Rashid grasped three each, whereas pacer Pandya was economical. Before the GT chase, DC brought in pacer Khaleel Ahmed as the Impact Player (IP) for Sarfaraz, while the visitors were off to a restless start, too, losing three for 56 by the sixth over of the PP.
GT was forced to use its IP, bringing in top-order batter Vijay Shankar for pacer Joshua Little, as he and Sudharsan (62*) put on a 53-run partnership for the fourth wicket to keep GT in the chase before the former fell to pacer Mitchell Marsh in the 14th. Nonetheless, Sudharsan and David Miller (31*) saw through the chase, as the visitors got the job done by six wickets by the 19th over, with 11 balls to spare. For the hosts, pacer Anrich Nortje caught a couple, whereas chinaman wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was quite economical.
