IPL 2023: Clinical Gujarat Titans crush Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets to storm to second successive victory

Sai Sudharsan (62 not out) starred with the bat after sensational bowling performances from Rashid Khan (3 for 31), Mohammed Shami (3 for 41) and Alzarri Joseph (2 for 29) as Gujarat Titans defeated Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.

This was the second straight victory for defending champions Titans who had got off to a winning start to their season with a win over Chennai Super Kings on March 31.

Anrich Nortje struck twice in his first two overs to remove Gujarat Titans openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill. The Arun Jaitely Stadium had come alive after an insipid batting display by the hosts and there was the making of a great fightback. The noise among the home fans was even louder when DC's Impact Player Khaleel Ahmed sent back GT captain Hardik Pandya.

But the Titans Impact Player had a bigger impact. In a steady stand with Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar denied Delhu Capitals anymore breakthroughs till the 14th over. DC captain David Warner did not get Axar Patel into the attack until much later. Warner persisted with Mitchell Marsh who did not get any purchase from a two-paced pitch in his first spell. However, he struck immediately after coming back for his second spell



and removed Vijay Shankar for 29, ending a 53-run for the 4th wicket.

David Miller joined Sudharsan with Gujarat Titans needing 56 runs off 40 balls. If DC had any hopes of staying in the game, they were dashed by David Miller who hit Mukesh Kumar for two sixes and a four in the 16th over to make it a mere formality for the Titans.

The star of the GT chase was Sai Sudharsan who scored his second IPL half-century. This match-winning knock came on the back of a stunning season at the Vijay Hazare Trophy where he scored 610 runs including 3 hundreds from 8 matches.

After Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to bowl, Mohammed Shami delivered an erratic first over but made course correction quickly. In his next two overs, Shami removed Prithvi Shaw and Mitchell Marsh to push Delhi Capitals on the backfoot.

David Warner who scored a half-century in DC's first match of the season, struggled against GT's fiery fast bowling. Sarfaraz Khan was relieved of wicketkeeping duties and he was expected to shoulder additional responsibilities as a specialist batter. The two added 30 runs off four overs for the third wicket and it looked like the Capitals were on their way to recovery.