GT vs PBKS star player of the match: Sai Sudarshan

Cut down 65 quality runs that Gujarat Titans’ Sai Sudharsan made, and the table toppers would have been left with almost nothing to defend. The Tamil Nadu talent played a responsible knock of unbeaten 65 in 50 deliveries with five fours and one six in only his fourth IPL match against Punjab Kings to give some respectability to Titans’ total (143 for eight).

Sudharsan has given a good account of himself in his first previous three matches, scoring a short and sweet 35 on his debut, replacing his Statemate Vijay Shankar in the playing 11, against the same opponents as Tuesday’s at DY Patil Stadium and sharing 101 for the second wicket with Shubman Gill on April 8 at Brabourne Stadium. It was the same match that will be remembered more for Rahul Tewatia’s two winning sixes off the last two balls. But Sudharsan’s contribution was equally vital in the context of that match.

On Tuesday, he assumed the responsibility and kept the Titans innings together. The Titans innings was falling apart with their big names, right from opener Gill and captain Hardik Pandya to the big-hitter David Miller, Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia falling to medium-pacers Kagiso Rabada and Co.

Batting at his customary No. 3 position, Sudharsan rotated the strike initially and did not look to score boundaries. He was more concerned about steadying one end while allowing the big-hitters at the other end to look for boundaries, which, though, did not happen. He played nine dot balls before scoring his first boundary, going on one knee and pulling slow bowler Liam Livingstone to backward square leg in the 12^th over.

The 20-year-old left-hander employed the pull shot effectively, collecting a couple of fours in the mid-wicket region, the one that he scored against leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, bisecting the deep square-leg and deep mid-wicket regions with precision being a stand-out shot. His lone six, a pull off Rahul Chahar to wide long-on also brought up his maiden IPL, and also his T20 career, fifty.

Sudharsan has come up the hard way in the Tamil Nadu cricketing circles. His exploits in the Tamil Nadu Premier League last year – second highest scorer with 358 runs in eight innings at 71.60 and a strike rate of 143.77 – caught the attention of many including the IPL talent scouts. Ace India bowler from TN, Ravichandran Ashwin tweeted in praise of Sudharsan last year, saying: “This boy Sai Sudarshan is special, get him into the TN team asap! @TNCACricket . He had such a good league season and has now seamlessly transitioned into the 20 over format. #solidtalent @TNPremierLeague #TNPL.”

Hailing from a family of sportspersons – his father Bharadwaj represented India in athletics at SAF Games while his mother Usha played for Tamil Nadu in volleyball – Sudharsan’s love for sport was but natural. Acquired for ₹20 lakh in the IPL auctions, Sudharsan is set to last long in his chosen sport. Tuesday’s responsible knock will go a long way in boosting his confidence.

And in a match in which the regular big stars in PBKS lived upto the expectations, Sudharsan’s performance cannot be discounted.