When facing the Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s batting difficulties persisted.
On Sunday, April 6, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), a well-known team from Hyderabad, continued to struggle at the batting position against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 19 of the current Indian Premier League season (2025).
They only succeeded in setting a goal of 153 runs at home despite being asked to bat first on a black-soil surface. Even though captain Pat Cummins’ pivotal cameo in the later stages of the SRH innings was a finishing flourish, Hyderabad was unable to establish a scoring momentum from the outset.
Talking Points
1. Early powerplay collapse
GT pacer Mohammed Siraj displayed a stellar show with the ball upfront to dismiss the dangerous opening duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. Head gave away his wicket in an attempt to flick the ball in the first over itself. While his partner was caught by Siraj to hand him his 100th wicket of his IPL career. As a result, the pressure kept piling up on the home side and failed to recover back from the early top-order collapse.
2. Slowing down in middle overs, Cummins’ vital cameo
Gujarat Titans squeezed the batters of SRH for every run and all rounder R Sai Kishore played his role to perfection to choke the scoring chances. So much so that SRH were left gasping for runs as they failed to hit a single boundary for six overs of play. Kishore claimed the wickets of Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Reddy to dampen the chances of recovery. Only captain Pat Cummins played an unbeaten gutsy cameo (22* runs off 9 balls) to pilot his side beyond the 150-run mark.
3. Sundar’s controversial catch, Gill leads side to victory
The hosts came out all guns blazing in the run chase. While Rohit Sharma (13 off 12 balls) continued his poor form, his fellow opener Ryan Rickelton pummeled Kolkata Knight Riders with a blistering unbeaten 62 off 41 balls. Notably, his fiery knock included five sixes and four boundaries.
All-rounder Andre Russell claimed both of MI’s wickets, but by the time Will Jacks was dismissed, the score was already close to 100. In the end, Rickelton and Suryakumar Yadav (27* off 9 balls) completed the formality, sealing a dominant victory for Mumbai Indians by eight wickets with 43 balls to spare. With this win, MI finally ended their losing streak in the ongoing IPL 2025 season.
4. Gill stars with bat, GT complete hattrick of wins in IPL 2025 season
In reply to the run chase, Gujarat Titans had two early jolts in the form of Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler. At that point, GT were reeling at 16/2 in the fourth over. However, skipper Shubman Gill stitched a 90-run partnership with Washington Sundar to steady the ship.
Interestingly, Sundar who missed his fifty (49 runs off 29 balls) by a whisker, was given caught out under controversial circumstances. But this did not stop Gill from remaining unbeaten (61* runs off 43 balls) and guiding his side home to complete a hat-trick of wins in the IPL 2025 season.
After Sundar’s departure, West Indian all rounder Sherfane Rutherford played a quickfire unbeaten knock (35* runs off 16 balls) to stop any further damage in the game. As a result, GT won the match by seven wickets with 20 balls to spare in Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, here’s what the captains and POTM (Player of the Match) had to say regarding how the match turned out on Sunday:
Who Said What?
Shubman Gill, GT (Winning captain) said,
Bowlers are game-changers especially in this format, lot of people talk about big-hitters but bowlers win you games. We wanted to play shots all along the ground, that was the chat between me and Washington Sundar. There was no conversation as such, it was all about playing good cricketing shots. The energy he (Mohammed Siraj) brings during bowling and fielding is infectious you know.
Pat Cummins, SRH (Losing captain) said,
Was a bit skinny, but the Hyderabad wicket is a bit tough. A few early wickets and you are in the game. It didn’t spin much, there was a little dew around, but they batted really well. Their pace bowling was tough to play against today.
Mohammed Siraj, Player of the Match said,
When you come your home ground, it’s a special feeling. My family was there in the crowd and that lifted me up. I have played for seven years for RCB. I have worked hard on my bowling and also on my mindset, it’s working working really well for me. At one time, I was not able to digest it but I kept my spirits up and worked on my fitness and game. Whatever mistakes I was making,
I worked on those and I’m enjoying my bowling. As a professional when you are consistently with the Indian team, a doubt grows in your mind but I cheered myself up and was looking forward to the IPL. When you execute when you are trying to deliver, you stay at the top. When you move the ball both in and out and it works instinctively, it gives you a different feeling.
India
