GT aims to recover from Suryavanshi blitz as it runs into SRH

Sunrisers Hyderabad players Pat Cummins and Travis Head catch up with Gujarat Titans’ assistant coach Matthew Wade during a training session ahead of Friday’s IPL match in Ahmedabad.
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI

One singular feat explains what Gujarat Titans has been doing so efficiently in its batting in the ongoing IPL season. Its batting average in the first ten overs this season – an astounding 92.44 – is the best in the tournment’s history!

With GT being set up for the bulk of its runs to come from its top three batters, its openers – Shubman Gill (389 runs) and B. Sai Sudharsan (456) – have been great with wicket retention. While GT has lost the fewest wickets (six) of all the teams in the PowerPlay, it has also managed to score at 9.31 runs per over. Never have both openers, and only once has Sai Sudharsan, been dismissed in the PowerPlay.

This enables GT to double down on the scoring rate in the middle (7-16) and death (16-20) overs. It has the best run rate in both phases – 9.98 and 12.33. And it has lost the fewest wickets (14) of all the teams in the middle overs too.

So, when Sunrisers Hyderabad takes on GT at the Narendra Modi stadium here on Friday, it should simply look to get GT’s openers and Jos Buttler (406 runs) early. It’s doubtful, though, whether the SRH bowling attack is able. It has the second-worst economy in the PowerPlay (10.31) and middle overs (9.53).

Its bowling gets even worse at the death. Its economy of 13.43 is the worst globally across all T20 leagues since 2024! Its dashing batting line-up isn’t up to the mark either.

The only positive thing for SRH is that it comes off a win (vs CSK in Chennai) and a six-day gap, whereas GT comes off battered by Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.