Sai Sudharsan (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)
Sai Sudharsan, the young batter from Tamil Nadu, rose to the occasion as defending champions Gujarat Titans recorded their second straight win of the IPL 2023 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday (April 4) night.
Chasing a tricky 163 for victory against Delhi Capitals, the Hardik Pandya-led side won the contest with six wickets in hand and 11 balls to spare, thanks largely to Sudharsan’s unbeaten 62 that came off 48 balls and included four boundaries and a couple of sixes. The 21-year-old put on 56 runs in the company of David Miller, who stayed unbeaten on a 16-ball 31. Earlier, spinner Rashid Khan was at his usual best for the Titans, taking 3/31 in 4 overs. Fast bowler Mohammed Shami too accounted for three wickets but was expensive, conceding 41 runs.
JioCinema IPL expert Anil Kumble hailed Sudharsan’s knock, saying: “He looked like a very organized player. Good against fast bowling, good against swing. He came into the first game as an impact player and certainly created an impact, he played a cameo.”
“Today, it was three-down and all the big stars gone. Shubman Gill was gone, [Wriddhiman] Saha got out, and his captain Hardik Pandya got out. Both the Tamil Nadu guys [Vijay Shankar and Sudharsan] got together and put together a partnership,” added Kumble. “Gujarat has always created that aura about themselves ‘we’ll restrict you to 160 and get that’. With an impact player, it makes it even easier for them. Sai Sudharsan constructed the innings perfectly.”
Another JioCinema IPL expert, Parthiv Patel, was also extremely impressed with Sudharsan. “Sudarshan is 21 years old. He has been playing First Class cricket for the last two years,” said Patel.
”If you watch him bat, you’ll think he is a very technically correct player. He does not try to smack the ball. There are benefits to him having played last season as well and when you play for a winning team, it changes your mentality. You know that you have players that can create some room and manage a game, which gives you a little time. He showed great maturity with the way he was batting tonight, and this will benefit him in the future.”
JioCinema IPL expert RP Singh, meanwhile, pointed out some flaws in the way Delhi chose their bowling attack for the game.
“I think the bowling selection was incorrect for this,” said Singh. “They played with few pacers, Mitchell Marsh was their fourth pacer against a team that has a battery of pacers. At the start, I felt they should start with [Anrich] Nortje,” he said.
“There was a mistake in the captaincy, as Nortje proved his impact by taking wickets in his first over. That shows that you were thinking you have to extend the game when you should have stopped the game right there. The best bowler should get his duties at the right time. So, they made a mistake with the selection by taking too many pacers and then incorrectly rotating their best available pacers,” Singh added.