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The chase masters of the Indian Premier League, Gujarat Titans got their tenth victory out of eleven while chasing a target in their short-lived history of the IPL. GT conquered Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley stadium on Tuesday.
DC set a target of 163 for the defending champions, but GT overcame the home team by showcasing their quality and depth in the batting line-up. GT won the game quite comfortably with six wickets with eleven balls to spare (123/4) and restored their place at the summit of the IPL 2023 table. The likes of Anrich Nortje, Axar Patel and David Miller caught the eyes of spectators with their incredible performances. But there was one player, Sai Sudharsan, who rose to the occasion and left his mark on the game as well as the players. GT skipper Hardik Pandya believes that Sudharsan is something special and he will go on to become the next big thing for franchise cricket and eventually Indian cricket as well. The 21-year-old left-handed batter Sai Sudharsan played an exhilarating unbeaten knock of 62(48)*. The efforts he put in for the past month have finally started to bear fruits. "He (Sai Sudharsan) is been batting terrifically. Credit to the support staff and to him as well. The amount of batting he's done in the last 15 days, all the result you see is all his hard work. Going forward, if I'm not wrong, in two years, he'll do something great for franchise cricket and eventually for India cricket as well," Hardik Pandya said after the match. Nervousness was quite evident in the first few shots that Sai played at the beginning of his innings. After timing a few shots Sai eased into the game and exhibited his true calibre. " A little bit nervous as this is my first time here. I was thinking what has to be done right. I wasn't under pressure, I was just calculating the right things. It was a bit low and skidding through, I was thinking to take the right options. My plan was to take the game deep and taking it through. Weathering the storm early on (was more satisfying). It was quite difficult, it was seaming initially, that was the highlight for me," Sai Sudharsan said. Even though Sai and Miller's heroics with the bat ensured GT's unbeaten status remained intact in IPL 2023, their bowlers on the other hand had an uncanny start in the powerplay. Even though they still managed to get a grip of the game after Mohammed Shami picked up Prithvi Shaw's wicket. "It was funny at the start, we didn't know exactly what was happening but something was happening. We gave 15-20 runs extra in the powerplay. The way the bowlers pulled back was amazing," Hardik Pandya continued. Gujarat Titans will be keen to keep their unbeaten status intact against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday at the Eden Gardens. (ANI)
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