Sai Sudharsan’s elegant 82 off 53 balls, supported by impactful cameos and a clinical bowling performance, helped Gujarat Titans overpower Rajasthan Royals by 58 runs in their Indian Premier League fixture here on Wednesday.
Sudharsan anchored Gujarat’s innings with finesse, guiding them to a commanding 217 for 6. The southpaw’s innings was adorned with eight boundaries and three sixes, forming the backbone of the total, while Jos Buttler, Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia chipped in with brisk cameos.
Defending the imposing total, Gujarat’s bowlers maintained pressure throughout, dismissing Rajasthan for 159 in 19.1 overs, despite resistance from Shimron Hetmyer (52) and Sanju Samson (41).
Mohammed Siraj and Arshad Khan gave the hosts a perfect start, dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Rana within the powerplay. Arshad removed Jaiswal for 6 with a wide delivery that was slashed to Rashid Khan at deep third, while Siraj induced a miscue from Rana (1), who too perished at the same region.
Samson and Riyan Parag then launched a fierce counterattack. Parag thrilled the crowd with three no-look sixes, while Samson punished anything loose, helping Rajasthan reach 57/2 by the end of the powerplay.
However, Kulwant Khejroliya struck to remove Parag for 26, with Buttler taking a well-judged catch. Rashid Khan (1/35) then snared Dhruv Jurel (5), pegging Rajasthan back to 68/4.
Samson and Hetmyer stitched a 48-run partnership to revive hopes, but Prasidh Krishna (3/24) turned the game decisively. He first dismissed Samson, who tried to steer one fine but ballooned it towards Sai Kishore at the circle’s edge. Krishna returned to dismiss Hetmyer, ending Rajasthan’s resistance.
Earlier, Rajasthan’s Jofra Archer appeared close to his fiery best. Though he leaked runs in his first few matches, he clocked 152.3 km/h and clean bowled Shubman Gill with a searing 147.7 km/h inswinger.
Buttler, who opened with Sudharsan, looked in fluent touch, hammering Fazalhaq Farooqi for consecutive boundaries before launching into Theekshana with back-to-back fours.
The Sri Lankan spinner, however, got the breakthrough by trapping Buttler leg-before, halting an 80-run stand. Rajasthan turned to Archer for control, and he responded with a tight over, but Shahrukh Khan then unleashed a flurry of boundaries to restore momentum.
Shahrukh’s powerful hitting saw him cart Theekshana for 16 runs in the 14th over, but the Royals managed to hit back by removing him and Sherfane Rutherford in quick succession.
Sudharsan was dropped on 81 but added only one more run before Tushar Deshpande induced an edge to dismiss him. Nonetheless, his innings had already propelled the Titans to a match-winning total.
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