Gujarat Titans (GT) is making the most of their purple patch in IPL 2025. The Shubman Gill-led side has now have registered 3 back-to-back resounding victories in the tournament. Mohammed Siraj broke the back of SRH’s batting lineup while restricting them to 152-8. Mohammed Siraj not only registered his best bowling spell by taking a 4-wicket haul but now has 9 wickets to his name & is looking invincible.
There was a lot of buzz for SRH, who would transform the T20 cricket by notching the first-ever 300-run score in IPL, but now they are in deep trouble. The Pat Cummins brigade has now been comprehensively beaten 4 times on the trot. The bowling attack lacks the ‘X’ factor, so does the batting department. SRH couldn’t even put up a strong fight while defending 153 runs as GT chased it down by 3.2 overs left & 7 wickets in hand.
Mohammed Siraj’s brutal spell floors SRH
The surface at Hyderabad, which was being used, was a No.4 pitch, and the average score was less than 160. There were a lot of cracks on the surface, and GT skipper Shubman Gill had no hesitation in bowling first. Travis Head wanted to play his ultra-attacking natural game plan and dictate the terms against Siraj, and by doing that, he gifted his wicket in the first over itself.
Travis Head had already smashed 2 fours and Siraj targeted his pads, and he gave an easy catch to mid mid-wicket fielder Sudharsan. Travis Head hasn’t been able to create fear amongst bowlers in this edition so far, having scored 148 runs in 5 innings. Shubman Gill’s field placements were spot on, and head coach Ashish Nehra, on the boundary rope, was seen giving constant guidance to Gill.
Gill’s decision to give Siraj 3rd back to back paid the dividends. In the 5th over of the match, after playing a string of two dot balls, Abhishek Sharma wanted to clear the long-on fielder, but with not great timing, he lost his wicket. Siraj’s peculiarity was that he bowled wicket to wicket, which hardly gave any room or width to the batters. Abhishek Sharma now has only 51 runs to his name in 5 innings, which is concerning.
The middle overs phase also didn’t bring the flurry of boundaries for SRH. The sly spinner R Sai Kishore’s variations were commendable. Just when the partnership between Heinrich Klaasen & Nitish Kumar Reddy was giving a glimmer of hope, there was a twist in the tale. In the 14th over, Klaasen decided to take on Sai Kishore, and on the 5th ball, bowling around the stumps, he castled his wickets.
SRH was reduced to 100-4 in 13.5 overs. The surface was quite a bit sluggish, as blind slogging wasn’t going to be that productive. Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was at the other end,d was quite focused on rotating the strike rather than going for a glory shot. But Sai Kishore duped Nitish as well in the 16th over and was dismissed on 31 runs in 34 balls. Not a single SRH batter scored 35 runs which is shocking.
SRH’s innings never took off, the cameos from Pat Cummins & Aniket Verma were something to cheer at the back end of the innings. Mohammed Siraj silenced the critics by taking 2 wickets in the death overs phase and finished with 4 wickets for 17 runs in his 4-over spell. R Sai Kishore also deserves applause, who took 2 scalps and conceded a run a ball in his quota of 4 overs spell. GT needed 153 runs to win.
Shubman Gill & Washington Sundar deliver a knock-out punch
While defending 153 runs, SRH believed that they were in the game while sending back Sai Sudharsan cheaply & Jos Buttler. The score was 16-2 in 3.5 overs. There was an unexpected promotion to Washington Sundar at the No.4 position, who made it count. In the 5th over, Washington took on Simrajeet Singh, the impact player, and struck 2 fours and 2 sixes in his over.
The right-hand-left-hand combination of Gill & Sundar was doing wonders for GT. It was quite perplexing to see how Pat Cummins ran out of options for breaking the partnership. Kamindu Mendis was given the 9th over, which failed very badly as he conceded 12 runs.
Shubman Gill was quite happy to rotate the strike & smash an odd boundary every over or 2. There wasn’t a significant dew for GT batters to make the run chase a cakewalk. Washington Sundar missed out on an incredible half century when Shami foxed him in the 14th over as the left-handed batter was dismissed on 49 runs in 29 balls with hitting 5 fours and 2 sixes.
Many cricket experts were raising their voice about why Washington Sundar wasn’t given an over, as he is a premier off-spinner. Washington’s versatility to bat & bowl perhaps adds another ingredient to GT’s unit. GT’s score was 106-3 in 13.1 overs, needing another 47 runs to win.
Sherfane Rutherford went out all guns blazing as a barnstorming cameo of 35 runs in 16 balls won the game for GT. Shubman Gill’s unbeaten knock of 61 runs in 43 balls augurs that the GT skipper has started taking responsibility for winning the matches more keenly, rather than playing a fearless brand of cricket. SRH bowlers were toyed with by GT batters apart from Shami, who took a 2-wicket haul.
What lies ahead for SRH & GT
SRH are now placed at the bottom of the points table with 2 points in 5 matches. It’s high time that the likes of Adam Zampa & Rahul Chahar should be given a chance in the bowling department. There is too much pressure on Zeeshan Ansari, who is quite a newbie in the IPL. SRH’s next match is against PBKS on Saturday at Hyderabad on 12th April, and they have a decent gap and need to regroup quickly as another 2 back-to-back defeats can end their campaign very quickly
GT on the other side would be booming with confidence as their Indian core unit is performing and excelling in all three 3 departments of the game. GT is now in 2nd position on the points table with 3 wins from 4 matches. GT’s next match is their home game against RR on 9th April. The only concern for GT would be the form of Ishant Sharma, who gave away 53 runs in 4 four-over spell. GT, though, is giving vibes of the IPL 2022 & 2023 editions with every other player stepping in, which is a warning to other IPL teams.
Also Read:Â SRH vs GT: Mohammed Siraj Opens Up On ICC CT 2025 Axe After Back To Back Match Winning Spells