Openers Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill scripted an unimaginable run chase as Gujarat Titans handed Delhi Capitals a humiliating 10-wicket defeat and sealed their playoff berth in an important IPL match in New Delhi on Sunday (May 18, 2025).
Chasing 200 for victory, Sudharsan (108 not out) and Gill (93 not out) made mild work of the goal, powering Gujarat to 205 for no loss with six balls to spare.
While Sudharsan struck 12 boundaries and 4 sixes, Gill clobbered seven sixes and three fours through the unbeaten stand.
Earlier, KL Rahul flourished as an opener, hammering 14 fours and 4 sixes in an unbeaten 112 off 65 balls to propel Delhi Capitals to 199 for 3 after being put in to bat.
With this win, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings additionally confirmed their playoff berths. Delhi Capitals, in the meantime, should win each of their remaining matches and depend on different outcomes to face an opportunity of qualifying for the knockout stage.
DC’s ploy to open with a spin-pace mixture backfired as GT raced to 31 with out loss in two overs, with Sudharsan plundering 20 runs off T Natarajan, together with three fours and a six. Axar Patel too was costly, conceding 11 and 12 in his first two overs.
Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman and Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera briefly stemmed the stream of runs with tidy spells as GT reached 59 for no loss on the finish of the powerplay.
The spin duo of Vipraj Nigam and Kuldeep Yadav was launched quickly after, however DC burned two evaluations in successive overs — each involving Sudharsan. The left-hander first survived a caught-behind attraction off Vipraj on 44, after which a leg-before shout off Kuldeep on 46, a lot to the house workforce’s frustration.
Sudharsan introduced up his half-century with a boundary off Axar within the ninth over.
Gill, who had been taking part in second fiddle till then, shifted gears and started dealing in sixes. He slog-swept Axar over deep midwicket, danced right down to Kuldeep for a flat six, and adopted it up with one other clear hit over Vipraj’s head.
He then flicked Chameera over deep midwicket earlier than citing his fifty off 33 balls — his first 4 of the innings coming within the thirteenth over. He added one other six off Vipraj as DC’s bowling wilted.
With each openers in full stream, GT hammered 4 consecutive overs of double-digit scores from the ninth to the twelfth to wrest management of the chase, reaching 154 in 15 overs.
Sudharsan clobbered Kuldeep for a straight six to carry up his century off simply 56 balls and fittingly completed the match with one other six off Vipraj within the nineteenth over.
Earlier, DC suffered an early blow when Faf du Plessis (5) was dismissed by Arshad Khan (1/7 in 2 overs) within the fourth over.
Rahul, nevertheless, anchored the innings with composure and aggression, forging a 90-run stand off 52 balls with Abishek Porel (30), adopted by a 45-run partnership in 26 balls with skipper Axar Patel (25), and an unbroken 48-run stand off 22 deliveries with Tristan Stubbs (21 not out).
Rahul, who has had success as an opener for his earlier franchises, was in full management, peppering the off-side with crisp minimize pictures and clearing the ropes with ease. He pulled Kagiso Rabada over lengthy leg for his first six and adopted it up with one other over long-off.
Abishek chipped in with two sixes earlier than falling to Sai Kishore, however Rahul continued to speed up, discovering three lucky boundaries in a single over off the left-arm spinner.
Axar joined the act with a 4 and a six off Sai Kishore to push the rating previous 150 earlier than being dismissed by Prasidh Krishna.
Rahul maintained the tempo, launching two sixes within the nineteenth over to carry up his century off 60 balls — his first ton this season — and have become the primary batter to attain IPL lots of for 3 totally different franchises, together with Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants.
Stubbs offered the ending touches with a few massive hits as DC completed simply shy of the 200-run mark.
Published – May 18, 2025 10:24 pm IST
