• Source:JND

Mumbai | Jagran Sports Desk: Kane Williamson's heroic half-century helped Sunrisers Hyderabad to secure a win over Gujarat Titans on Monday in the 21st match of the Indian Premier League.

The Sunrisers chased down the target of 163 with five balls to spare with captain Kane Williamson top-scoring with a 57 while Nicholas Pooran remained not out on 34. Young Abhishek Sharma made 42 at the top of the order before retiring hurt.

For the Titans, Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan took a wicket each.

Earlier, captain Pandya top-scored for the Titans with a 42-ball 50 not out while Abhinav Manohar chipped in with 35.

Invited to bat, Hardik first forged a 40-run stand for the fourth wicket with David Miller (12) to rally the innings after the top three batters failed to convert their starts as Gujarat were in a spot of bother at 64/3 after eight overs.

Hardik then added 50 runs with Abhinav Mahonar, who justified his Rs 2.60 crore price tag with his quick fire 35 off 21 balls, to ensure that the Titans crossed the 150-run mark.

Manohar, who got three lives, hit five boundaries and one six in his short stay and particularly launched into T Natarajan (2/34) in the 18th over, where Gujarat amassed 13 runs.

However, it was an unusual Hardik knock, as he mixed caution with aggression to anchor the innings.

The ‘all-rounder' announced his arrival with a straight-drive off Natarajan to fetch his first boundary and then was brutal on Umran Malik (1/39), whom he hammered two successive boundaries in the eight over, which fetched nine runs.

In the next over, he clobbered Aiden Markaram for his only maximum over cow-corner but Hardik was devoid of partners, as SRH kept striking at regular intervals.

The SRH attack largely kept Hardik at bay, as they did not allow him to free his arms in the last five overs and as a result it was Hardik' slowest fifty in the IPL.

Earlier, opener Matthew Wade earned his first boundary, courtesy a thick outside edge in the first over, where Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/37) conceded 17 runs, 12 of them extras.

But Gujarat lost Wade (19), Shubman Gill (7) and one-down batter Sai Sudarshan (11) cheaply.

Gill was undone by a stunning one-handed diving catch by Rahul Tripathi at cover, off Bhuvneshwar, in the third over.

Sudarshan, who was looking rusty, became Natarajan's first victim, after ballooning to Kane Williamson at mid-off.

Wade, who hammered three boundaries, was trapped in front of the wicket, after he missed a flick, off a fuller delivery by Malik in the eight over.

Then it was Hardik and Manohar show as Gujarat added 82 runs in the final 10 overs.

(With PTI Inputs)