“Enjoyed My Role in the Middle Order”: GT’s Washington Sundar After Victory Over SRH

After securing a victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Sunday, Gujarat Titans (GT) all-rounder Washington Sundar expressed his joy following an exceptional performance in the 19th match of the ongoing 18th edition of the lucrative league. Sundar played a quickfire cameo of 49 runs off just 29 balls, which included five boundaries and two sixes. The 25-year-old cricketer achieved this at an impressive strike rate of 168.97.

The left-handed batsman came to the crease in the fourth over of the chase when Gujarat Titans were struggling at 16/2, having lost their experienced batters, Sai Sudarshan (5) and Jos Buttler (0), early in the innings.

From 16/2 in 3.5 overs, the southpaw, along with captain Shubman Gill, built a crucial partnership of 90 runs off 56 balls. This partnership helped the visitors secure an easy seven-wicket victory over the Pat Cummins-led side at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Speaking after the match, the Chennai-born player revealed what Shubman Gill told him when he joined him at the crease.

“You can use all the adjectives to describe it. The skipper told me to bat as deep as possible and wanted me to finish the game for the team. In Hyderabad, over the last few years, the wicket tends to get a little better, making it easier to chase targets of 160-170. I was aware of this, and it helped me. The coach asked me to go in at number four, especially after we lost a couple of wickets early on. It was a rare opportunity for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the middle,” Washington Sundar said in the post-match presentation.

In the match, SRH were put in to bat first after GT won the toss. The top order of Travis Head (8), Abhishek Sharma (18), and Ishan Kishan (17) struggled once again, reducing the side to 50/3. A 50-run partnership between Nitish Kumar Reddy (31 off 34 balls, with three fours) and Heinrich Klaasen (27 off 19 balls, with two fours and a six), along with a cameo by skipper Pat Cummins (22* off nine balls, with three fours and a six), lifted SRH to a total of 152/8 in their 20 overs.

Prasidh Krishna (2/25) and Sai Kishore (2/24) were also impressive with the ball.

GT began their chase of 153 runs shakily, losing two wickets for just 16 runs. However, a sensational 90-run partnership between skipper Shubman Gill (61 off 43 balls, with nine fours) and Washington Sundar (49 off 29 balls, with five fours and two sixes) turned the match in GT’s favor. Sherfane Rutherford (35* off 16 balls, with six fours and a six) expertly handled the finishing touches as GT chased down the target with 20 balls to spare and seven wickets in hand.

Siraj was named Player of the Match for his exceptional bowling performance.

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