Sai Sudharsan and Gill help clinical GT book playoffs berth

Gujarat Titans (GT) became only the second team in all T20 cricket to chase down a target of 200 or more without losing a wicket. That's how clinical B Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill were against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Sunday night as they took GT into the playoffs. Sai Sudharsan finished on 108 not out off 61 balls and Gill on 93 not out off 53 as they overhauled DC's 199 for 3 with an over to spare. That meant KL Rahul's 112 not out off 65 balls ended in a losing cause.

The result also took Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) into the playoffs. DC, Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants are the three teams in contention for the remaining one spot.

Sai Sudharsan came out all guns blazing. He got off the mark with a four off Axar Patel before hitting three more fours and a six off T Natarajan in the second over. By the end of the third over, he had scored 35 off 13 balls. Even though Mustafizur Rahman and Dushmantha Chameera gave away only 16 in the second half of the powerplay, GT were 59 for no loss after six overs.

While Sai Sudharsan brought up his fifty off 30 balls, Gill had a slow start. He was on 21 off 19 after eight overs. But in the next three, he hit three sixes - one each against Axar, Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam. He reached his fifty off 33 balls, with a four off Dushmantha Chameera. It was his first four of the innings. As if he had committed a mistake, he hit the following delivery for a six over square leg.

GT reached 154 for no loss after 15 overs. As a last throw of the dice, Axar brought Mustafizur for the 16th. Sudharsan hit his first two balls for fours to stamp GT's domination. Two overs later, he hit Kuldeep for a straight six to bring up his second IPL hundred, off 56 balls. Fittingly, it was Sudharsan with yet another six that sealed GT's win.

Earlier, DC's struggled to get going after being sent in. Mohammed Siraj and Arshad Khan stuck to good length with the new ball and gave little room to free arms. There were 15 dot balls in the first four overs. Faf du Plessis, who tried to break the shackles and charged at Arshad, was caught at mid-on for 5 off ten balls. After five overs, DC were 28 for 1.

Rahul played plenty of exquisite shots during his hundred. In the first over of the match, he had punched Siraj through covers off the back foot. Then he injected momentum into the innings by hitting Kagiso Rabada for two sixes and a four in the last over of the powerplay. This was Rabada's first match after a one-month ban for using recreational drugs. He bowled just two overs, was wicketless and went for 34.

Coming into this game, Rahul had a strike rate of 96.96 (64 runs off 66 balls) against Rashid Khan in T20 cricket. Here, he took him for 19 off 14. It was with a four off him that Rahul brought up his fifty, off 35 balls. Alongside Abishek Porel, who made 30 off 19, Rahul added 90 for the second wicket in just 8.4 overs.

Luck also favoured Rahul. In the 14th over, he got three fours off R Sai Kishore's first three balls, all through luck. The first one was drilled back and went through Sai Kishore's hands. Rabada misfielded the next before an outside edge sped past short third.

Axar has been superb against spin this season. Still, Gill gave the 16th over to Sai Kishore. Axar ensured he faced all six balls and took 15 from them. Prasidh Krishna returned in the next over and dismissed Axar with his second ball.

Rahul brought up his hundred off 60 balls. In the 19th over, he hit Prasidh's hard-length delivery for a straight six with a straight bat. Two balls later, he pulled him to square leg for four to get to the three-figure mark. Tristan Stubbs played a hand of 21 not out off ten, as DC scored 48 from the last four overs. But it was not enough.