Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has lauded the Gujarat Titans after their dominant 82-run victory against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The win took them to the top of the table in IPL 2026.
Kaif showered special praise on the management for allowing Sai Sudharsan to play his natural game and trying not to tweak things in his batting to improve his scoring rate.
“If Sai Sudharsan had played for another team, then his coach and captain would’ve gone after him [ruined his natural game]. They would’ve asked him to increase the strike rate from 140 and work on it. 180 or 200 is close to 250 for GT because of their bowling. It’s a Test match flavour,” Kaif said, speaking on his YouTube channel.
Sudharsan won the Orange Cap in IPL 2025, 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 more the Titans’ top run scorer. He scored a 44-ball 61 against the Sunrisers, which was the backbone of their ascent to 168/5 in their 20 overs.
The Sunrisers were subsequently bowled out for a paltry 86, with Jason Holder and Kagiso Rabada picking up three wickets apiece. Kaif further praised the Titans for their elaborate bowling plans and for relying on ‘Test-match lengths’ instead of bowling yorkers.
“Travis Head was moving away from the wicket outside Siraj’s line. Abhishek Sharma tried to create room, Rabada followed him and outfoxed him. Klaasen’s one wasn’t a short ball; it was a tennis ball bounce from Holder. It’s a classic Test match bowling example. It’s an example of good captaincy and strong bowling. No matter how many bowlers attempt Yorkers in IPL, they miss 90 out of 100 times. Gujarat has figured out that. Rabada, Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Jason Holder are bowling the same deliveries that they deliver for their countries. Hard length and discipline,” he observed.
The Titans head to the Eden Gardens to take on the Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday, May 18. They will be looking to finish their season in dominant fashion in order to solidify a top-two spot on the table ahead of the playoffs.
