‘Lot of people talk about big-hitters but…’: GT skipper Gill hails Siraj after win over SRH

HYDERABAD: Speaking after his side’s win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Shubman Gill hailed Mohammed Siraj’s match-winning spell, saying that despite people talking about big-hitting batters a lot, it is bowlers who win their teams games.

GT continued their upward trajectory in the IPL 2025 with their third successive win and perhaps the cleanest one so far while a reckless SRH succumbed to their fourth successive loss at Uppal Stadium on Sunday.

Speaking after the post-match presentation on Siraj, Gill said on Siraj, “Bowlers are game-changers especially in this format, lot of people talk about big-hitters but bowlers win you games. The energy he (Mohammed Siraj) brings during bowling and fielding is infectious.”

On his partnership of 90 runs with Washington Sundar and his knock, Gill said, “We wanted to play shots all along the ground, that was the chat between me and Washington Sundar. He (Sundar) was padded up in the match against MI but with the Impact player rule, you have to change your plans at times. The way he batted today was fantastic. There was no conversation as such, it was all about playing good cricketing shots and once we had a 30-40 run partnership, it was taking the game from there.”

Coming to the match, SRH was put to bat first after GT won the toss. The top order of Travis Head (8), Abhishek Sharma (18), and Ishan Kishan (17) was poor once again as the side was reduced to 50/3. A 50-run stand between Nitish Kumar Reddy (31 in 34 balls, with three fours) and Heinrich Klaasen (27 in 19 balls, with two fours and a six) and a cameo by skipper Pat Cummins (22* in nine balls, with three fours and a six) lifted SRH to 152/8 in their 20 overs.

Prasidh Krishna (2/25) and Sai Kishore (2/24) were also impressive with the ball.

GT started the 153-run chase in a shaky way, losing two wickets for 16 runs. However, sensational 90-run stand between skipper Shubman Gill (61 in 43 balls, with nine fours) and Washington Sundar (49 in 29 balls, with five fours and two sixes) took the match away from SRH in one big swoop and finishing was handled expertly by Sherfane Rutherford (35* in 16 balls, with six fours and a six) as target was chased down with 20 balls and seven wickets in hand.

GT is at the second spot in the points table with three wins and a loss, giving them six points. SRH is struggling at the bottom, suffering their fourth successive loss after a big win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a high-scoring campaign opener. (ANI)