Siraj shines as Gujarat crush Hyderabad by seven wickets

After Mohammed Siraj’s best IPL bowling figures of 4-17, captain Shubman Gill scored an unbeaten 61 to power Gujarat Titans (GT) to a commanding seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.

It was Hyderabad’s fourth straight defeat while Gujarat registered their third win of the IPL 2025 season.

Chasing 153, Gill absorbed the pressure of losing in-form Sai Sudharsan (5) and Jos Buttler (0) early in the innings and played an anchor role to take the side over the line.

It was not a usual Hyderabad wicket which would be a run-scoring belter but a tricky one where the ball was coming slow on the bat. Gill along with Washington Sundar, who was playing his debut match for Gujarat Titans, navigated the middle overs well and kept the scoreboard ticking.

Sundar struck two fours and as many sixes off Simarjeet Singh’s over to accumulate 20 runs from it. That over somewhat shredded the pressure off the chasing side to recover from early jolts.

The duo continued their partnership with a healthy run rate and made the most of the loose balls. Meanwhile, Gill completed his half-century in 36 balls as Gujarat were looking stable to complete the chase with ease.

On the other hand, Sundar was also inching closer to his half-century but a brilliant catch from Aniket Verma on Mohammed Shami’s bowling ended his 49-run knock.

In the end, Sherfane Rutherford scored a quickfire 35 not out studded with six fours and a six to steer the side over the line with 20 balls to spare.

Gill remained unbeaten on 61 off 43 balls laced with nine fours as Siraj was awarded the Player of the Match accolade.

Earlier, after being invited to bat first, Travis Head struck two consecutive fours off Siraj before the pacer dismissed him on the final ball of the opening over.

Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma struggled to score freely in the powerplay overs as the pair only added 29 runs for the second wicket before the latter was sent back to the pavilion by Siraj in the fifth over.

After losing both their openers early, Hyderabad were 45/2 after the end of the powerplay, their second-lowest in nine innings since 2024.

Kishan, who had spent a decent time on the crease, couldn’t capitalise on the start and was picked by Prasidh Krishna for 17 in the eighth over.

Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen gave some respite to Hyderabad’s struggling innings as the duo kept on rotating strikes against Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore in the middle overs.

The duo amassed a 50-run stand for the fourth wicket before Sai Kishore got the better of both batters in successive overs. Klaasen departed after scoring 27 including a six and two fours while Nitish scored 34-ball 31.

Hyderabad’s hope for a late flourish in the death overs also hit a blow when Krishna put an end to Kamindu Mendis’ (1) five-ball stay at the crease, leaving them for 120/6 after 17 overs.

In the next over, Siraj, bowling his final over of the spell, showcased exceptional death bowling skills and clinched Aniket Verma (18) and Simarjeet Singh (0) to complete his four-fer. The pacer returned with the figures of 4-17, his best bowling performance in the IPL history.

Pat Cummins (22 not out) struck four and six while Mohammed Shami joined him with a four off Ishant Sharma’s final over to take their total to 152/8.

Apart from Siraj, Rashid and Krishna bagged two scalps each while remaining economical in their spells.

Meanwhile, England fast bowler Jofra Archer has been lauded for his match-winning IPL display for Rajasthan Royals, a rapid turnaround from a record hammering in the season opener.

Rajasthan thrashed Punjab Kings by 50 runs on Saturday with Archer returning bowling figures of 3-25 from his four overs of express pace in Chandigarh.

“We always knew Jofra is a world-class bowler. The skill he brings to the table and into the game, very few can bring that,” Rajasthan’s Sandeep Sharma said of his fellow seam bowler.

Indo-Asian News Service

Brief scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad 152/8 in 20 overs (Nitish Kumar Reddy 31, Heinrich Klaasen 27; Mohammed Siraj 4-17, Rashid Khan 2-24, Prasidh Krishna 2-25) lost to Gujarat Titans 153/3 in 16.4 overs (Shubman Gill 61 not out, Washington Sundar 49; Mohammed Shami 2-28) by seven wickets.