Former Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif praised Gujarat Titans After an impressive 82-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This win took them to the top of the table in IPL 2026.
Kaif gave special praise to the management for allowing Sai Sudarshan Playing his natural game and not trying to change things in his batting to improve his scoring rate.
“If Sai Sudarshan had played for any other team, his coach and captain would have gone after him [ruined his natural game]. He might have asked him to increase the strike rate from 140 and work on it. Because of his bowling 180 or 200 is closer to 250 for GT. It tastes like a Test match,” Kaif said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
Sudarshan won the Orange Cap in IPL 2025 by scoring 759 runs at a strike rate of 156.17, which also earned him the Emerging Player award. He has scored 501 runs at a strike rate of 155.10 and is once again the Titans' top run scorer. He scored 61 runs in 44 balls against Sunrisers, which was the backbone of their score of 168/5 in 20 overs.
After this, Jason Holder and Sunrisers team were out for just 86 runs. Kagiso Rabada Took three wickets each. Kaif praised the Titans for their elaborate bowling plans and relying on 'Test-match length' bowling rather than yorkers.
“Travis Head was moving away from the wicket outside Siraj's line. Abhishek Sharma tried to create space, Rabada chased him down and outfoxed him. It was not a short ball from Klaasen; it was a tennis ball bounce from Holder. This is an example of classic Test match bowling. This is an example of good captaincy and strong bowling. No matter how many bowlers attempt a yorker in the IPL, they miss 90 times out of 100. Gujarat figured it out. Rabada, Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Jason Holder are bowling the same balls they do for their countries, with strict length and discipline.”
The Titans will head to Eden Gardens to take on Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday, May 18. They will be looking to finish their season effectively to consolidate the top-two spot in the table ahead of the playoffs.
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