A run fest followed after Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won the toss and asked Gujarat Titans (GT) to bat first in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. Aware of the SRH batting arsenal, GT openers Sai Sudharsan and captain Shubman Gill started their onslaught from the very first over the match when Gill flicked a delivery from his India teammate Mohammed Shami for a six over the square leg fence.
But nobody, not even Shami would have anticipated what would unfold in his next over. GT were 16/0 after 2 overs and Sudharsan started the third over by Shami with a boundary to the mid-wicket fence.
SRH captain Pat Cummins had a word with Shami and the India veteran came up with a dot ball on the next delivery. Then came the carnage. Sudharsan cut the third ball fiercely through point for a boundary. Shami, guilty of giving room in his previous delivery, over corrected his line and strayed onto the pads and Sudharsan flicked it to fine leg for his third boundary in four deliveries.
Sudharsan then outsmarted Shami on the next delivery by waiting for a length ball and opened the face of his bat to steer it between short third man and backward point for another boundary.
Shami had deep square leg and long leg in place and bowled a short-pitched delivery. But Sudharsan pulled between the two fielders on the leg side for his fifth boundary of the over.
The carnage by Sudharsan against the senior India pacer sent internet into a meltdown and here are the best reactions...
Gill and Sudharsan brought up the 50-run opening stand in the fourth over and Sudharsan not only became the first batsman in this IPL edition to breach the 500-run mark, but also became the fastest to reach 1500 runs (in 35 innings) in the history of the tournament.
Not just that, Sudharsan became the second fastest batsman to reach 2000 runs in T20s, taking 54 innings to the mark, after Aussie Shaun Marsh who took 53 innings.
Sudharsan also slammed four boundaries in the fifth over of the match bowled by Harshal Patel and fell just 2 runs short of a well-deserved fifty, departing for 48 off 23 balls – a whirlwind knock that was studded with 9 fours.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
