At a glance
- Gujarat Titans beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 82 runs
- Daniel Vettori calls defeat a minor IPL blip
- Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj dominate with the ball
Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori has insisted his side will quickly recover from their heavy defeat to Gujarat Titans after an explosive pace attack handed SRH an 82-run loss in Ahmedabad.
Despite chasing a modest target of 169, Hyderabad were blown away for just 86 in 14.5 overs as Gujarat’s seamers produced one of the most destructive bowling displays of the IPL 2026 season.
Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Jason Holder and Prasidh Krishna combined for remarkable figures of 9 for 82 from 14 overs, leaving SRH with no route back into the contest after an early collapse.
Even with the defeat Sunrisers remained third on the IPL table and Vettori was keen to focus on the positives from his team’s performance.
SRH Bowlers Earn Praise Despite Defeat
Hyderabad’s own bowling attack had earlier impressed by restricting Gujarat Titans to 168 for 5 on a surface that appeared favourable for batting.
Pat Cummins and Praful Hinge both maintained economy rates below six runs an over while Hinge and Sakib Hussain claimed two wickets each. Eshan Malinga endured a tougher outing but still contributed to an overall disciplined display.
Speaking after the match Vettori admitted SRH believed they were firmly in the contest at the halfway stage.
Vettori said:
“We were satisfied at the halfway mark. We knew coming up against their bowling line-up and the fact that they had five seamers plus Rashid was always going to be a challenge.
“We didn’t get the start we wanted and they were able to capitalise the whole way through and their bowling was brilliant.”
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Sanjay Bangar Hails Sunrisers Hyderabad Bowling Plans
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar was full of praise for Hyderabad’s tactical execution with the ball and highlighted the planning that restricted Gujarat’s dangerous top order.
Bangar said on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut:
“There were some exceptional bowling plans starting from how they bowled to Sai Sudharsan bowling that leg-stump line and not giving him anything to score off.
“Even to Nishant Sindhu you saw that the third man was very fine and they attempted the bouncer.”
Bangar also pointed to Pat Cummins’ tactical field placements against Gujarat’s aggressive batters as another example of SRH adapting smartly to the conditions.
Former India batter Ambati Rayudu agreed and felt Hyderabad’s bowlers judged the pitch well by avoiding excessive slower balls early in the innings.
Rayudu said:
“They just didn’t go to the slower ball very early like how generally they do in other grounds. They played the conditions really really well.”
Gujarat Titans Pace Attack Crushes SRH Batting
While Hyderabad’s bowling earned praise their batting line-up had no answer to Gujarat’s relentless pace assault.
Rabada ripped through the top order inside the powerplay while Siraj and Holder maintained the pressure throughout. Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan all fell cheaply as SRH lost four wickets during the opening six overs.
Praful Hinge had earlier provided SRH with momentum after dismissing both Shubman Gill for 5 and Jos Buttler for 7 during Gujarat’s innings.
Sai Sudharsan anchored the Titans innings with a measured 61 from 44 balls while Washington Sundar accelerated late with a 33-ball half-century.
Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar Reveals How Adam Gilchrist Helped Shape IPL Playoff Format
Daniel Vettori Confident SRH Will Bounce Back
Despite the crushing nature of the loss Vettori defended his batting group and stressed that setbacks are inevitable during a long IPL campaign.
Vettori said:
“If they had scored 200 then we knew it would have been an incredibly difficult task. But I think the fact that the target was 169 we thought we had a chance.
“I don’t put any blame on the batting unit. They’ve been exceptional this year. Every team throughout the IPL is going to have their small blips once in a while and ours was tonight. But I don’t see any reason why we won’t bounce back.”
With the playoffs race intensifying SRH will now look to quickly regroup and rediscover the aggressive form that has made them one of the standout sides of IPL 2026.
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