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Following his team's loss to the Gujarat Titans (GT), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach Daniel Vettori hailed the Titans' bowling unit and termed the table-toppers as a "formidable team".
After half-centuries from Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar pushed Titans to 168/5, their powerplay bowling pair of Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada wreaked havoc on an explosive SRH line-up with their pace and seam movement, restricting them to 86 all out, handing them their biggest IPL loss in terms of runs and moving to the top of the table with 16 points. Speaking during the post-match presser, Vettori said that it was going to be difficult with GT having five seamers and a superstar spinner in Rashid Khan. "A really good performance by GT, and they put us under a lot of pressure with the ball. The opening pair of Rabada and Siraj set up so well. They had five seamers and Rashid; it was going to be difficult. We did not get the start we wanted, and their bowling was brilliant," said Vettori. He also said that GT are a formidable team, who can put the foot on the accelarator and score 220s and 230s when needed, and they played in tough, bowling-friendly conditions well. "They are a formidable team. They have their own style, and they can adapt. They can score 220s and 230s. There is no reason why they cannot do that. They played the conditions well. There is a reason they are on top of the table; they can adapt anywhere," he said. Coming to the match, SRH opted to bowl first and GT was reduced to 26/2, with Sai Sudharsan (61 in 44 balls, with five fours and two fifties) carrying out the repair job with Nishant Sindhu (22 in 14 balls, with three fours and a six) with a 38-run stand and then a 60-run stand with Washington Sundar (50 in 33 balls, with seven fours and a six). GT reached 168/5 in 20 overs, courtesy of fifties from Sudharsan and Washington. Praful Hinge (2/17 in three overs) and Sakib Hussain (2/37 in four overs) bowled superbly for SRH. Skipper Pat Cummins also had a four-over spell of 1/20. During the chase, Mohammed Siraj (1/11 in three overs) started strong by removing Travis Head for a duck. Kagiso Rabada (3/28 in four overs) dismantled the top-order consisting of Abhishek Sharma (6), Ishan Kishan (11) and Smaran Ravichandran (9), reducing SRH to 32/4 in 5.5 overs. Later, it was Jason Holder (3/20 in four overs) and Prasidh Krishna (2/23 in three overs) who skittled out SRH for just 86 runs, with SRH skipper Cummins (19) being the top scorer. Rabada was adjudged to be the 'Player of the Match' for his sensational powerplay spell. With eight wins and four losses, GT stays at the top of the table with 16 points, and SRH has slid down to third with seven wins and five losses, with 14 points. (ANI)
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