IPL 2022 | Whirlwind cameos from Tewatia, Rashid help GT clinch a last ball cliffhanger against SRH

A maiden five-for from Umran Malik and brilliant knocks from Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram was not enough for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to claim their sixth consecutive win, thanks to sensational cameos from Rahul Tewatia (40* off 21) and Rashid Khan (31* off 11) in a high-scoring nerve-jangler on Wednesday night.

For a better part of Gujarat Titans' (GT) run-chase, Wriddhiman Saha's 38-ball 68 was the only shining light for them in an innings thoroughly dominated by one man and one man only - Umran Malik.

Malik has turned many heads with his fiery pace and skiddy nature since his debut last season, but the most impressive aspect has been the constant improvement he has shown in his relatively short career.

Wednesday night saw the best of Umran as he sent the stumps flying consistently. It was an enthralling display from the 22-year-old where he just kept beating batters with his searing pace and accuracy.

The Gujarat batters didn't help their cause either by moving away from the stumps. Shubman Gill did precisely that, only to see his stumps pegged back.

Hardik Pandya tried to pull a 'heavy ball' from Umran but was well beaten by the pace and ended up getting a top-edge. Amid all this, Saha held the innings together with an innings full of glorious stroke play.

The veteran cricketer hammered as many as 11 fours and a six during his 38-ball 68 to keep GT in the hunt, but once Malik knocked over him and David Miller, there was simply no way back for their team.

Malik claimed his final victim in the form of Abhinav Manohar, whose bat, it seemed, came down an hour after his stumps had been pegged back by a fullish length delivery from the right-arm pacer.

Malik claimed his maiden five-wicket haul in IPL cricket, and by the time his spell got over (5/25 in 4 overs), it looked as if Gujarat's chances were also gone.

But again, Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan came to GT's rescue as they hammered 71 runs between them, including four sixes in the final over bowled by Marco Jansen to script a sensational last-ball heist.

Half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma & Aiden Markram and a cameo from Shashank guided SRH to 195

Batting first, the Sunrisers rode on swashbuckling knocks from opener Abishek Sharma (65 off 42 deliveries) and middle-order enforcer Aiden Markram (56 off 40 deliveries) and a priceless cameo from Shashank Singh (25* off 6) to post 195/6 in 20 overs.

It did not start well for the 'Orange Army' as they lost their skipper Kane Williamson for a lacklustre 8-ball 5. Mohammad Shami castled Williamson via a nip-backer.

Rahul Tripathi, as usual, came out all guns blazing as he hammered a maximum and two boundaries consecutively off Shami. However, the Indian seamer had the last laugh as he pinned Tripathi leg-before wicket for a 10-ball 16.

This brought Abhishek and Markram together, and the duo went on to add 96 runs in the next 10.1 overs, with the young southpaw being the dominant partner.

The Punjab all-rounder played some delightful strokes during his 42-ball 65, and the most pleasing aspect of his knock was that he took down the opposition's best bowler in Rashid Khan.

Sharma smashed as many as three sixes of Rashid while Markram continued to take care of the likes of Lockie Ferguson and Yash Dayal.

Alzarri Joseph eventually castled Sharma, and Nicholas Pooran too perished cheaply, leaving Markram with the task of providing the finishing touches.

While Markram did complete his half-century, the final flourish came from the bat of Shashank Singh, who smoked Ferguson for three successive sixes in the last over to take the total to 195.

Brief Scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad - 195/6 (20)

Abhishek Sharma 65(42), Aiden Markram 56(40), Shashank Singh 25*(6);

Mohammed Shami 3/39 (4), Yash Dayal 1/24 (4)

Gujarat Titans - 199/5 (20)

Wriddhiman Saha 68 (38), Rahul Tewatia 40*(21), Rashid Khan 31*(11)

Umran Malik 5/25 (4), Bhuvneshwar Kumar 0/33 (4)

Gujarat Titans won by 5 wickets.