Match 40 - Highlights - sportstiger

Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL

The 40th match of the Indian Premier League will go down in the history for having one of the most thrilling end. Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan held their nerve in the last over as they successfully chased down 22 in the last six balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad and firmed Gujarat's authority at the top of the points table. Umran Malik's superhuman pace wreaked havoc in Gujarat's batting lineup as he picked five wickets for 25 runs but unfortunately ended on the losing side.

Earlier, Hyderabad posted a mammoth 195 in the first innings on the back of Abhishek Sharma (65 off 42), Aiden Markram (56 off 40) and a blistering cameo from Shashank Singh (25 off 6) in the final over. For Gujarat, Md. Shami was the standout bowler as he clinched three wickets, while Yash Dayal and Alzari Joseph took one wicket each. Rashid Khan and Lockie Ferguson had not the best day at office as both the quality bowlers had an economy of 11.20 and 13.00, respectively.

In response, the Titans got a flying start as Wriddhiman Saha (68 off 38), and Shubman Gill (22 off 24) added 69 runs for the first wicket, whereas skipper Hardik Pandya (10 off 6) and David Millar (40 off 21) had an off day. Rahul Tewatia once again changed things for Titans as he scored an unbeaten 40 in just 21 balls with the help of two maximums and four boundaries. Credit to Rashid Khan, as he added quickfire 31 in just 11 balls.

Let's take a look at highlights from the game.

1. 96-run stand between Abhishek Sharma and Aiden Markram

Md. Shami's brilliance with the bowl spoiled Hyderabad's plan of having a solid start to their first innings as the Indian pacers dismissed Kane Williamson (5 off 8) and Rahul Tripathi (16 off 10) quite early in the game. But, Sharma anchored the innings, and Markram too understood the situation and together, both the batters added 96 runs on board with the help of their blistering knocks. Sharma scored 65 runs, including three maximums and six boundaries, while Markram added 56 runs in just 40 balls.

2. Shashank Singh's blistering cameo in the final over

Singh was playing his first game for the franchise, and he wasted no time in making a mark for himself. He came to bat in the 19th over and hit Alzari Joseph for a boundary on the first ball he faced. In the final over, he came to strike on the fourth ball and least to anyone's expectation, the Titans scored 18 runs in the last three balls with the help of three maximums.

3. Umran Malik's sheer pace

Malik has already been making headlines for himself ever since he stepped into the tournament. Match 40 was no expectation as the young pacer completely destroyed the backbone of Gujarat Titans by taking all of the five wickets. Rarely have we seen a player from the losing side winning the Player of the Match, but it happened with Malik on Wednesday. He dismissed Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, David Miller and Abhinav Manohar. He once again clocked 153 kmph in the game, and that too, it was a wicket-taking delivery.

4. Last over heroic from Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia

Umran Malik's brilliance changed the arithmetic as the Titans had a mounting task to chase 22 runs in the last six balls. Marco Jansen was responsible for finishing things for Hyderabad, while Khan and Tewatia had their own plans. Tewatia hit the maximum on the first ball and once gave a glimpse of what he is capable of.

On the next ball, he rotated the strike and brought the legendary spinner on strike, who was hitting the ball well too. Khan, too, went for maximum on the third ball - nine runs were needed off three balls. The fourth ball of the over was not, which made everyone nervous in Titans camp, but Khan, who was in no mood to spare Jansen, hit back-to-back sixes and pulled off a stunning victory or to say, a perfect heist for Gujarat Titans.