Ahmedabad: Sai Sudharsan (84) and M. Shahrukh Khan (58) slammed brilliant fifties as Gujarat Titans scored 200/3 in 20 overs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Match 45 of the IPL 2024, here on Sunday.
After opting to bat first, the hosts didn’t get a positive start as Wriddhiman Saha (5) and Shubman Gill (16) failed to impress on a slow-looking track. It was Swapnil Singh who got the first breakthrough for Bengaluru. He got the better of Saha in the very first over.
Gill then tried to build up a partnership with Sai Sudharsan. The duo managed to rotate the strike and at the end of the first powerplay (6 overs), Gujarat scored 42/1. However, soon after that, comeback man Glenn Maxwell dismissed Gill to further jolt the Gujarat camp.
But a smart move by coach Ashish Nehra of sending Shahrukh up the order proved fruitful. Shahrukh played some fearless cricket to guide his team to a better-looking total. He hit the ball to all parts of the stadium, to cheer the crowd. Sai too made sure that Shahrukh got more of the strike as he was hitting the ball well. Shahrukh reached his 50 off 24 balls (3 x 4, 5 x 6).
And Sai took 34 balls to reach his fifty (5 x 4, 2 x 6).
Mohammed Siraj was then called in the 15th over and he bowled Shahrukh out. David Miller (26) joined Sai and he too looked a little unsettled at the wicket as the ball was coming slow on the bat. Sai hit some boundaries to pull back his side in the game.
Miller in the last ball of the innings smashed a six to guide his side to the 200-run mark.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 200/3 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 84 not out, M Shahrukh Khan 58; Swapnil Singh 1-23) against Royal Challengers Bengaluru
(IANS)
