"They find new heroes" - Aakash Chopra lauds Sai Sudharsan's knock in Gujarat Titans' IPL 2023 win against Delhi Capitals

Aakash Chopra has lauded Sai Sudharsan for rising to the occasion and taking the Gujarat Titans (GT) to a win in their IPL 2023 clash against the Delhi Capitals (DC).

The Delhi Capitals were restricted to 162/8 after being asked to bat first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday, April 4. Sudharsan then scored an unbeaten 62 off 48 balls to help the Gujarat Titans overhaul the target with six wickets and 11 deliveries to spare to register their second win of the tournament.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that the Gujarat Titans found a new hero once again, saying:

"Anrich Nortje came in this match and picked up two wickets. He hit two balls on the stumps - first Wriddhiman Saha and then Shubman Gill. After that, as Gujarat did last year, they find new heroes. It was Sai Sudharsan's turn this time."

The former Indian opener praised Sai Sudharsan for delivering the goods under pressure, much like Tilak Varma did for the Mumbai Indians, elaborating:

"Sai Sudharsan batted extremely well, considering the temperament he showed, the kid plays extremely clean. Two left-handers are being discussed in India currently, both are uncapped. Both have shown their prowess in this year's league - one is Tilak Varma and the other is Sai Sudharsan and both have been very good."

Chopra also appreciated Vijay Shankar (29 off 23) and David Miller (31* off 16) for playing their roles in the Gujarat Titans' chase. Sudharsan first added 53 runs with Shankar for the fourth wicket when the defending champions were in a spot of bother at 54/3 before stringing together an unbroken 56-run fifth-wicket partnership with Miller to seal the win.

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"You will be in great trouble if Gujarat gets such a pitch" - Aakash Chopra on Gujarat Titans' bowling

Mohammad Shami snared two wickets in his first spell. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Speaking about the Delhi Capitals' innings, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the Delhi surface favored the Gujarat Titans' bowlers, observing:

"What was that pitch in Delhi? The ball was moving a lot right from the start. You will be in great trouble if Gujarat get such a pitch. It was Mohammad Shami at the start, and then Alzarri Joseph and Rashid Khan."

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the Capitals reached a fighting total only because of the efforts of their lower-middle order as their established batters failed to fire, explaining:

"Delhi tried a lot but it was just a fighting total and not a winnable one, and you only reached there when Axar Patel, Sarfaraz Khan and Abishek Porel played well. The big guns just did not fire, whether it was Rilee Rossouw or Mitchell Marsh. David Warner did score runs but he was lucky as the bails didn't fall when the ball hit the stump."

Axar Patel (36 off 22) and Abishek Porel (20 off 11) played enterprising knocks for the Capitals after Prithvi Shaw and Mitchell Marsh were dismissed cheaply, and Rilee Rossouw failed to open his account. Although David Warner scored 37 runs, he played 32 deliveries in the process and never looked comfortable in the middle.