IPL 2023: Dasun Shanaka makes much-awaited IPL debut for Gujarat Titans in match against Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sri Lanka all-rounder Dasun Shanaka made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for the defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday, May 15. Shanaka was purchased by Titans for a base price of INR 50 lakh, as a replacement for New Zealand star batter Kane Williamson, who was ruled out of IPL 2023 due to an injury sustained during the first match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Batting at number seven, Shanaka scored an unbeaten nine runs off seven deliveries which includes a boundary. He batted at a strike rate of 128.57 in his first match in the cash-rich league. The right-handed batter is an explosive middle-order batter who also bowls right-arm seam. However, he wasn’t tried by Gujarat Titans with the ball in the match against Hyderabad. 

Earlier this year, the 33-year-old had had an incredible series against India, where he also stunned the hosts with a century. His heroics grabbed all attention during the three-match ODI series played in India in the month of January.

Talking about his T20 career, Shanaka has so far amassed 3724 runs, including three centuries, in 183 matches. He has also picked up 59 wickets at an economy rate of 8.81 in the format.

GT overcome SRH by 34 runs in Hyderabad

Speaking about the match, SRH skipper Aiden Markram won the toss and opted to field first, a decision that didn’t come well for them, as GT opener Shubman Gill scored his maiden IPL century to help the home side post a total of 188 in 20 overs. The young opener scored 101 runs off 58 balls, including 13 boundaries and one six. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took five wickets for SRH, while Marco Jansen, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and T Natarajan grabbed one each. 

During the second innings, SRH’s top order struggled to score runs. Meanwhile, keeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen delivered a powerful knock and provided SRH with a sigh of hope. He scored a crucial 64 off 44 deliveries before being dismissed by Mohammed Shami. Klaasen’s efforts, however, went in vain as GT restricted the visiting team to a total of 154/9 in the allotted overs. For GT, Shami and Mohit Sharma took four wickets each, while Yash Dayal picked one.