Live Report - IPL 2023 - Gujarat Titans vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Ahmedabad

It's now confirmed, folks. And it has taken is 62 games to finally have the first team enter the playoffs. Not just that, the defending champions are also now guaranteed a top-two finish. Which also means they will have at least one more game - they'd hope it's the final - here in front of their home fans in Ahmedabad.

For Sunrisers, it's sadly back to the drawing board as they join Delhi Capitals in the exit queue. Seven others are in contention for three remaining playoff spots.

Even in defeat, there's a small silver lining for the Sunrisers. They surpassed Titans' 91 runs, the most by a team after the fall of the seventh wicket in the IPL. Tonight, they made 95.

Klaasen's dismissal reminds me of the 2010 IPL final where MS Dhoni strategically placed a straight'ish mid-off and long-off exactly in line with each other. It challenged Pollard to hit down the ground, and he hit it straight to Matthew Hayden. It was a strategy that worked to the T.

Here, David Miller is placed for the slap from Klassen and he picks him out to precision in trying to flat-bat Shami over the long-off fence.

The only difference is the Pollard wicket came with Mumbai Indians still in with a chance of winning. Sunrisers, here, are far from their target. 62 needed off 18 with two wickets in hand.

He's struck on the right ankle by a fierce swat by Heinrich Klaasen. Noor couldn't get out of the way on his followthrough. The impact of the hit was such that the ball bounced off his ankle into the cover-region and they even completed a single. Noor yanked his boots out immediately to tend to the swollen area and had to be helped off the field. Tewatia completes the over for him. Sunrisers need 66 off 24 with three wickets in hand.

Heinrich Klaasen, one of the bright spots for Sunrisers in a largely disappointing campaign has kept picking boundaries from time to time as he marches to his second half-century off the season, off 35 balls.

There's been little else of note in the innings where wickets have fallen like nine pins. They're merely delaying the inevitable now. If it's any consolation, Sunrisers haven't conceded any wicket to Rashid as he bowls out with six overs left.

He comes into the game and makes a mark immediately.

Off his second ball, he has an advancing Sanvir Singh slicing one to third man. Sanvir, who earlier got off the mark in the IPL with a six, had to force the pace as he stepped out to hit a cutter dug into the pitch.

Then Mohit rolled out his patented back-of-the-hand slower ball to Abdul Samad after a seam-up was whacked for four. Samad tried to pull but could only hit it as far as Shivam Mavi at midwicket. Sunrisers six down, forget about the target for now.

Have Shami and Yash Dayal extinguished SRH's playoff hopes that were already hanging on a thread?

Shami follows his dismissal of Anmolpreet with a lifter that Tripathi nicks to slip. Yash Dayal, making his first appearance since being hit for 30 in an over by Rinku Singh over a month ago, nicks off Abhishek Sharma. At 13 for 3, this is soon turning out to be a no-contest.

It's down to the South African pair of Markram and Klaasen to lead the rescue act.

The 15 wickets Shami has picked up in the powerplay this season is the most by a bowler. Only Mitchell Johnson (16 in 2013) and Trent Boult (16 in 2020) have picked up more wickets in powerplay in an IPL season.

Anmolpreet Singh manages to make just a fleeting appearance.

He was put down by Tewatia at slip after being done in by Shami's bolt upright seam and late movement. But after punching one for four through point, he looks to short-arm jab Shami, but is hurried into the shot by the zip off the deck as the top-edge lands in Rashid Khan's lap at third man.

Have they maximised their innings?

Bishop is an admirer of Shubman Gill, but wonders if he could've managed the innings better. Gill made 49 off 36 after his half-century that came off just 22. Sai Sudharsan too struggled for some tempo in that massive partnership that eventually meant the batters coming in simply had to go.

It was an innings of two halves.

First 10 overs: 103/1 Next 10 overs: 85/8

Bhuvneshwar finished with a five-for, three of which came in that final over. This is just the third instance in a T20 where there's been a century and a five-wicket haul.

Bhuvneshwar is only the third bowler, after Jaydev Unadkat and James Faulkner, to pick up two IPL five-fors.

A week after he narrowly missed one by a whisker at this very venue, Gill brings up his century off 56 balls. It's also the first century by a Gujarat Titans player.

In the 12th over, T Natarajan had missed a straightforward return catch to reprieve Sai Sudharsan on 43, but the missed opportunity doesn't cost Sunrisers much as he takes an excellent catch running back from short third to dismiss him for 47 in the 15th over. Seven balls later, Titans looks Hardik as he cuts one straight to backward point. Miller joins Gill as death overs loom.

Here's a nugget from our in-house stastistician Sampath Bandarupalli:

Gujarat Titans' 103/1 is the highest 10-over total in IPL without hitting a six. The previous highest was 96 for 0 by SRH vs GL in 2016.

But right on cue, Sudharsan breaks the shackles by hitting the innings' first six. He walks across the stumps, gets nice and low to use Marco Jansen's pace to scoop him over fine leg for six.

It's also an expensive 11th over, where there's a no-ball that's hit for six, a catch off a free hit that's dropped and parried to the fence. It's all happening.

Each of those boundaries were to different corners of the ground.

First: a superb short-arm jab bisecting midwicket and mid-on

Second: using the depth of the crease to whip it off his hip through square leg

Third: Back and across and punching on the up through point

Fourth: neat roll of the wrists to help the short ball along to beat short fine.

Fifty up for the Titans inside four overs.

One could've so easily been two for Sunrisers, but for a missed run out chance at the bowler's end. B Sai Sudharsan is anxious to get off the mark, and so he takes off for a single by simply pushing it into the off-side, Sanvir Singh comes in from mid-off with an under-arm flick but misses the stumps. Sudharsan would've been out for a duck had that hit.

Then in the second over, he punches off the back foot to short cover and takes off for a run instinctively. He's so far down the pitch that Mayank Markande, who intercepted the ball with a full-length dive to his right, had enough time to aim and shoot. But he may have just jumped the gun by firing the ball at the striker's end quickly. The miss means Sudharsan has a second life in two overs.

Coming into this game, Wriddhiman Saha had a particularly good match-up against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, having picked him for 41 runs off the 30 balls he's faced. Tonight, he's out for the first time to him as he slashes at a slightly fuller delivery that nips away. Sunrisers had two slips in place for the late movement and the cordon comes into play in the very first over as Abhishek Sharma takes a good catch at second slip.

Markram believes there's a hint of moisture in the pitch that they want to exploit first-up. "If things are meant to work out, they'll work out," he says of their fate in the competition. Marco Jansen comes in for Glenn Phillips in what is a tactical change based on conditions.

Hardik seems quite relaxed and insists the entire group is carrying the same vibes. "Knew this year will be tricky, last year people were getting used to us. The boys have showed great character in tough situations, it shows where we stand."

Vijay Shankar misses out after being hit in the nets; B Sai Sudharsan comes in. There's also a debut for Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka while Yash Dayal makes a comeback for the first time in over a month, since that famous Rinku Singh jailbreak.

GT: Saha, Gill, Sudharsan, Hardik, Miller, Shanaka, Tewatia, Rashid, Mohit, Shami, Noor.

Subs: Dayal, Bharat, Nalkande, Kishore, Mavi.

SRH: Abhsishek, Tripathi, Markram, Klaasen, Samad, Sanvir, Jansen, Markande, Bhuvneshwar, Farooqi, Natarajan.

Subs: Anmolpreet, Philips, Hosein, Dagar, Reddy.