Match Highlights

Picture Credit: Twitter

Steady knocks from Hyderabad batters helped the side clinch their second win in the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League after they handed a maiden defeat to Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans by 8-wickets at DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. Skipper Kane Williamson (57 off 46), Abhishek Sharma (42 off 32), and Nicholas Pooran's 34 in 18 balls guided the side to cross the winning margin of 162 in just 19.1 overs.

Earlier, batting first, Gujarat Titans had a troublesome start to their innings as in-form opener Shubhman Gill (7 off 9) could not repeat their past performances as he got dismissed too early in the innings. Rahul Tripathi's stunning catch in the field caused Gill his wicket in the third over.

While Titans' was on the brisk of mini-collapse, Hardik Pandya rose to the occasion and played captain's knock by scoring a half-century in a crucial match. Abhinav Mathur's 35 run cameo towards the end was also a valuable contribution. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan picked two wickets in the game, most by any bowlers. Kane Williamson was rewarded with Player of the Match.

Let's take a look at some of the highlights of the match.

Rahul Tripathi's one-handed diving catch to dismiss Shubhman Gill

Hyderabad batter Rahul Tripathi registered his name amongst the probables of the catch of the tournament list in the current season. Shubhman Gill, who was in the form of his life, with back-to-back fifty-plus scores, was dismissed in just the third over of the first innings due to Tripathi's brilliance in the field. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a length delivery around off, Gill hammered it to the left of Tripathi at covers with a lot of power, and it looked certain to cross the boundary lines, but Tripathi stunned the batter with his insane pull of one of the impressive catches of the tournament.

Hardik Pandya's gritty half-century

The performance of Hardik Pandya is being closely monitored as a lot of things were written and discussed about his fitness. As Pandya shut down his critics by bowling four-over spells in most of the matches, he also displayed his class on Tuesday as he notched up a determined half-century when Titans were struggling to post a competitive total on board. He scored an unbeaten 50 off 42 and was one of the takeaways from the game.

The partnership between Kane Williamson and Abhishek Sharma

Hyderabad lost just two wickets before finishing the game in their favour. In response to 162, skippers Kane Williamson and Abhishek Sharma added 64-runs to provide a solid start in the second innings. Williamson played his natural game as he kept rotating strikes and hitting boundaries on occasions. His inning was studded with two boundaries and four sixes, while Sharma anchored his innings with the held of four boundaries. The partnership between both was one of the reasons Hyderabad pulled off victory quite comprehensively.

Nicholas Pooran's 34 run cameo

The wicket-keeper batter is known for his swashbuckling batting style, and he treated the crowd at DY Patil with the same. He hit two boundaries and as many as sixes in the game to ensure no delay in the run chase. His unbeaten 34-runs provided a second victory for the Hyderabad and much relief for the skipper as Pooran's performance in the tournament will define the team's result.