IPL 2017, SRH vs GL: Lions losing four wickets in eight balls is SK Turning Point of the match

Mohammed Siraj was the pick of SRH bowlers

Gujarat Lions are a batting heavy team. They hide their bowling unit’s inexperience and lack of skills by posting mammoth totals on the board or by chasing targets at a brisk pace. However this year, along with their bowlers, their batting unit too failed to perform up to their potential and hence the team fell out of the contention for playoffs.

But in the last few games, it seems that Gujarat batsmen had found their mojo and were offering something for their fans to cheer about. In today’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Kanpur, once again it seemed like the batting of Gujarat Lions was set to roar as the wicket was flat and the boundaries short.

The opening pair of Dwayne Smith and Ishan Kishan was off to a blazing start and was looking to tear apart the bowling of Hyderabad. However, both the batsmen were benefited by the small boundaries as few of their mishits sailed over the fence.

Click here to watch the epic collapse.

The opening pair added 111 runs in 11 overs and laid a perfect platform for the rest of the batsmen to deliver.

With hitters like Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karhik, Aaron Finch and James Faulkner padded up, Lions were certainly aiming at a score above 200. However, Smith lost his wicket soon after as Mohammad Siraj and Rashid Khan came back to turn the match on its head.

The Turning Point

It was a complete meltdown as Gujarat lost four wickets in the span of three runs

Even after the wicket of Dwayne Smith, Lions were looking comfortable as their skipper Suresh Raina was at the crease along with Ishan Khan, who had blasted a quick fifty and was looking good for a triple figure score.

But in the 13^th over, Mohammad Siraj came back in the bowling attack and troubled both batsmen by altering his lengths and varying his pace. On the fourth ball, Siraj delivered an off-cutter at full length which Kishan tried to smack in the mid-wicket region. But the ball found the edge of the bat and settled in Naman Ojha’s gloves.

One ball later, the bowler delivered yet another off cutter and the result was the same, but this time Siraj found the bigger fish, the captain of Gujarat, Suresh Raina. The batsman went for the pick-up shot as the ball was delivered on the leg stump but he too failed to execute the shot.

The ball went straight to Shikhar Dhawan who was standing at mid-wicket region.

Two wickets in three balls and Gujarat Lions’ innings was derailed. From one for 120, the team was pushed back to three for 120. However, this was just the start.

In the next over, Rashid Khan sent back in-form Dinesh Karthik on the first ball. Of all the dismissals, Karthik’s was the most awful as it came on a full-toss. The Tamil Nadu skipper couldn’t resist the temptation to go for the big shot and tried to pull the ball towards the mid-wicket region.

But to the wicket-keeper batsman’s dismay, it was caught smartly by Deepak Hooda in the deep.

Three balls later, Lions’ finisher Aaron Finch went back to the pavilion as well. Rashid bowled a googly on off stump which Finch picked up perfectly and aimed for a slog sweep. However, the Australian batsman failed to make any connection and the ball went through his defence to dismantle the stumps.

It was a complete meltdown as Gujarat lost four wickets in the span of three runs. Importantly all four batsmen were quality players and were the core of Lions’ batting line-up. Kishan, Raina, Karthik and Finch, all back in the pavilion within eight balls.

The aftermath

Jadeja stood tall from one end as wickets kept on falling at the other

This collapse was a huge shock for the rest of the Gujarat batsmen and the team never recovered from it. Jadeja stood tall from one end as wickets kept on falling at the other. Lions were finally all out for 154 runs in the 20^th over.

Then Hyderabad captain David Warner played an effective innings to help his team achieve the total. He was ably supported by Vijay Shankar who scored an unbeaten 63 and stitched a match winning partnership with his skipper of 133 runs.

Looking back, Raina and company would think it was certainly a 180 plus run pitch and would curse themselves for losing out on such a massive opportunity.