Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin praised Sai Sudarsan for his impressive batting for the Gujarat Titans, highlighting the youngster’s clarity and understanding of the game despite the team’s narrow loss to the Rajasthan Royals.
Sudarsan posted a flowing 44-ball 73 in the absence of regular captain Shubman Gill but the Gujarat Titans fell short in a high-scoring match at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday. Ashwin praised Sudarsan’s approach and pointed out how he has adapted to the responsibility.
“Saj Sudarsan knew Shubman was not going to play today, so he had to shoulder the load himself. The way he started showed that he knew his strengths. He used the pace well, guided the ball to third man and then played some nice cover drives off the front foot. He took on Jadeja immediately after the attack, used the pace and then played a tough sweep,” Ashwin said on JioStar.
Gill missed GT’s match against RR due to muscle cramps and in his absence, Rashid Khan led the team. Ashiwn believes that when Gill returns, his opening combination with Sudharsan will be key for GT going forward.
“These are the strengths that Sudarsan relies on and he gets results. He needs to play like this, dominate the innings but maintain a good rhythm. For the Gujarat Titans, the absence of Shubman Gill is a big setback. So obviously, when Shubman returns, this opening combination will again be key for them going forward,” he added.
RR keeps calm in high-scoring clashes
Rajasthan Royals continued their strong start to the season with a second consecutive win at a healthy net run rate to move to the top of the table. Rajasthan defended their title with a staggering 210 but were pushed to the brink by a late charge from Gujarat, with Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada threatening to end the game in drama.
Skipper Riyan Parag revealed that the plan at the death was to attack the stumps with speed and not give the batsman room to release his arms. He admitted to briefly flirting with the idea of rearranging the bowling order, but praised Dhruv Jurrell for suggesting Jofra Archer bowl the penultimate ball.
The decision proved crucial as Archer used his pace and experience to hold off Gujarat in 19th position. Later, Tushar Deshpande kept his cool in the final and successfully defended 10 points to seal the victory.