Gujarat Titans became the first team to enter the IPL 2023 playoffs on Monday, defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 34 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Titans set a victory goal of 189 runs for Sunrisers, which the latter were unable to meet. Gujarat had scored 188 runs for the demise of nine wickets, while Hyderabad could only manage 154 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs, despite Heinrich Klaasen’s 64-run knockoff in 44 balls.
Shubman Gill hit a century in the first innings before Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s five-wicket haul reduced GT to 188 for nine. Gill was disqualified shortly after completing 101 runs.
GT’s innings were powered by the GT combination of Gill and Sai Sudharsan, who contributed 47 off 36 balls and accumulated 147 runs for the second wicket. Kumar of SRH, who took back-to-back wickets and completed a hat trick, won many hearts and received a scream of praise and acclaim from the stadium and, of course, the internet!
Sunrisers have now joined Delhi Capitals in the relegation zone. Seven additional teams are now vying for the final playoff slots. Despite winning the toss and electing to bowl first, the match ended in GTs’ advantage. Today, Luck did not play a significant role in Hyderabad.
Heinrich Klaasen (66 off 44) was the lone SRH batsman, while Mohit Sharma (4/28) and Mohammed Shami (4/21) each took four wickets for GT. SRH got off to a bad start, losing the wickets of Anmolpreet Singh, Rahul Tripathi, and Abhishek Sharma, within the first three overs, with the scoreboard showing only 12.
