Sai Sudharsan sees Titans home after their quicks restrict Delhi Capitals

Three-wicket hauls from Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan, backed up a measured unbeaten half-century from B Sai Sudharsan gave the defending champions Gujarat Titans their second consecutive win at the start of the 2023 season. Delhi Capitals suffered their second straight loss, in their first home game this year.

After Shami, Alzarri Joseph and Rashid restricted Capitals to 162 for 8, Anrich Nortje's pace had Titans in trouble at 54 for 3 in the sixth over. Sudharsan and Vijay Shankar, who was subbed in as Gujarat's Impact Player for Josh Little, forged a 53-run stand to take Titans closer. David Miller, who had arrived in Delhi from Johannesburg only the previous day, provided the finishing touches as Titans wrapped up the win with 11 balls to spare.

The Delhi pitch was lively from the outset and Shami was unable to control his swing, conceding ten runs through wides in his first two overs during the powerplay. He also bowled several superb deliveries, one of which beat David Warner and grazed the off stump but did not dislodge the bail. Shami got Prithvi Shaw to spoon a well-directed short ball to mid-on and had Mitchell Marsh chopping a back of a length ball on to his stumps. Though Capitals managed to score 52 for 2 in the powerplay, none of their batters looked confident.

Joseph also made life miserable for the Capitals. His first over cost 11 runs but his second was memorable. He first ended Warner's difficult stay, inducing a thick inside-edge on to the stumps. The next ball was a snorter to Rilee Rossouw, who fended in the air towards point, where Rahul Tewatia dived forward to take a sharp catch. Joseph was quick, mean, and accurate. Sarfaraz Khan and Abishek Porel were both struck on the helmet by his ferocious bouncers, as Joseph kept hitting speeds in excess on 145 kilometres per hour.

With pace causing Capitals plenty of problems, legspinner Rashid Khan was brought into the attack only in the 13th over and he had immediate impact. Rashid had Porel playing all around a sharp legbreak second ball, and he dismissed Sarfaraz and Aman Khan in the 17th and 19th overs. Only Axar Patel looked comfortable for Capitals, and his 36 off 22 balls helped them reach 162.

Heading into this game, Tamil Nadu team-mates Sudharsan and Vijay had strung together two fifty-run stands in four innings, and coincidentally both of those partnerships had come at the Aurn Jaitley Stadium during the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Now, batting for Titans, the pair produced another half-century stand in Delhi after beginning their stand in a difficult situation. Nortje had bowled the openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill, and Khaleel Ahmed had Hardik Pandya caught behind. With the asking rate under control, Sudharsan and Shankar built the chase steadily, taking no unnecessary risks and rotating strike while scoring the occasional boundary in between.

Sudharsan was one of the finds of the tournament last year and comes into this IPL on the back of a terrific domestic season. Though Nortje cranking up the pace and Kuldeep Yadav getting the odd one to rip, he never seemed out of depth. Sudharsan reached his fifty off 44 balls and remained unbeaten at the finish. Miller, on the other hand, found his bearings from the start, cracking Mukesh Kumar for 20 runs in the 16th over to decide the game. Miller was Titans' mainstay last year with his finishing abilities, and he started this season by having a similar impact.

Vijay had a stronger impact on the game than his Delhi counterpart. Khaleel entered the game at the start of the second innings, replacing Sarfaraz Khan, and while he did dismiss Hardik, he went for 38 runs in his four overs. Vijay managed a 23-ball 29 and his partnership with Sudharsan was one that turned the game for the Titans.