Sherfane Rutherford again watched from the sidelines as Gujarat Titans cruised to a 38-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a high-scoring Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday.
The hard-hitting West Indian, who showed early promise in the season, was omitted from the playing XI for the second straight game, having last featured against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 21. Despite flashes of form when given a chance, Rutherford remains in and out of a team stacked with batting firepower, a fact only underscored by the Titans’ latest performance.
Scores: Gujarat Titans 224-6 (20 overs); Sunriser Hyderabad 186-6 (20 overs)
Sent in to bat, Gujarat unleashed a top-order blitz to post their second highest score of the season, thanks to half-centuries from Shubman Gill (76 off 38 balls), Jos Buttler (64 off 37), and a quickfire 48 from B Sai Sudharsan. The trio's form now sees them sitting first, third, and fourth, respectively, on the IPL run-scoring charts.
Buttler’s innings was especially crucial, as he steadied the ship after Sudharsan’s dismissal and powered the Titans past the 220 mark. His knock came at a point when Sunrisers had briefly tightened the screws, but the Englishman, who had three fours and four towering sixes, reasserted the Titans' dominance.
Jaydev Unadkat (3-35) was the pick of the Sunrisers pack.
In response, Sunrisers started brightly, reaching 45-0 after four overs, with Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head attacking from the outset. But Gujarat’s bowlers, particularly Prasidh Krishna (2-19) and Mohammed Siraj (2-33), quickly put the brakes on the chase.
Krishna removed Head (20) with help from Rashid Khan, who took a breathtaking diving catch after running 32 meters from the boundary. From there, wickets began to tumble, including Abhishek Sharma, who topscored with a 41-ball 74 including four fours and six sixes, and the required run rate spiraled out of reach.
The win propelled Gujarat Titans to second place on the table, tied on 14 points with leaders Mumbai Indians and third-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore, separated only by net run rate as the playoff race tightens.