Siraj’s 4-17 helps Gujarat to hat-trick of IPL wins

Gujarat Titans' Mohammed Siraj celebrates the wicket of Sunrisers Hyderabad's Abhishek Sharma during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP)
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Updated 06 April 2025
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Siraj’s 4-17 helps Gujarat to hat-trick of IPL wins

  • Hyderabad-born Siraj kept up his bowling form in the T20 tournament this season with nine wickets in four matches and kept down hosts Hyderabad to 152-8

HYDERABAD, India: Pace bowler Mohammed Siraj returned figures of 4-17 to set up a third straight IPL win for Gujarat Titans as they hammered Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets on Sunday.
Hyderabad-born Siraj kept up his bowling form in the T20 tournament this season with nine wickets in four matches and kept down hosts Hyderabad to 152-8.
Skipper Shubman Gill hit an unbeaten 61 as Gujarat, champions in their debut season in 2022, overhauled the total with 20 balls to spare for their third victory in four matches.
Hyderabad, who lost the IPL final to Kolkata Knight Riders last year, remain at the bottom of the 10-team table with four successive defeats from five outings.
Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins struck early to dent Gujarat’s chase when he had Jos Buttler out for a duck after fellow quick Mohammed Shami had removed opener Sai Sudharsan.
Gill and number four Washington Sundar, a left-hand batter who smashed 49 off 29 balls, put the chase on track in their stand of 90 after Gujarat slipped to 16-2.
Shami denied Sundar his fifty with Aniket Verma taking a good catch in the deep, a decision that left the batsman and the Gujarat camp disappointed.
Impact substitute Sherfane Rutherford, a West Indian left-hander, kept up the charge with a flurry of boundaries including four in a row off Abhishek’s left-arm spin to ease into the chase.
Rutherford smashed 35 off 16 balls laced with six fours and one six. Gill anchored the chase in his 43-ball knock and hit the winning run.
Siraj remained hero as he removed openers Travis Head, for eight in the first over, and then another left-hander Abhishek Sharma, for 18, to hurt Hyderabad.
Prasidh Krishna took down left-hander Ishan Kishan for 17 before Sai Kishore took charge with his left-arm spin to rattle the opposition middle-order.
Kishore sent back Heinrich Klaasen, for 27, and Nitish Reddy, for 31, as Hyderabad wobbled and Siraj came back with two wickets with the old ball in his final over.
Cummins smashed 22 off nine balls in a late blitz that got his team 17 runs from the 20th over off veteran pace bowler Ishant Sharma, who leaked 53 of his four.


England comeback win against New Zealand gives Pakistan last shot at T20 World Cup semifinals

Updated 28 February 2026
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England comeback win against New Zealand gives Pakistan last shot at T20 World Cup semifinals

  • Pakistan have to beat Sri Lanka by 64 runs or chase down the co-host in 13.1 overs
  • England have already qualified but completed Super Eights three-for-three unbeaten

COLOMBO: New Zealand failed to clinch a Twenty20 World Cup semifinals place when it lost to England by four wickets on Friday, leaving Pakistan a last chance to qualify.

New Zealand looked set to join England in the semifinals when it reduced England to 117-6 in the 17th over in pursuit of 160. But big hits by Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed got England over the finish line with three balls remaining in a thriller.

“Would have made our lives easier if we won,” New Zealand captain Mitch Santner said. “We played a pretty good game. Credit to England. Jacks and Rehan with the finishing touches, it was a good bit of batting.”

The odds still favor New Zealand going through from the Super Eights but Pakistan has a last-ditch chance on Saturday against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.

Pakistan has to beat Sri Lanka by 64 runs or chase down the tournament co-host in 13.1 overs.

England had already qualified but completed the Super Eights three-for-three unbeaten.

That record was in jeopardy for much of the chase.

Phil Salt was out in the first over and fellow opener Jos Buttler for a two-ball duck in the second over. Buttler has only 62 runs in seven matches and his 10th career duck set the all-time record for England in T20s.

“He’s played 150 games for England,” captain Harry Brook said of Buttler, “and people need to take a little step back. He’s probably the best white-ball player to play the game. He’s in a rut but it’s exciting to know what he could produce in the next few games.”

Brook and Jacob Bethel were gone inside nine overs then Tom Banton and Sam Curran struggled to share 42 runs in 35 balls. England was left needing 43 runs off 19 deliveries with four wickets on a used pitch that was turning.

Ahmed replaced Jamie Overton because of the pitch and took 2-28, and he made his bat also count.

He sent the second ball he faced over the long-on fence as he and Jacks turned the game with 22 runs in the 18th over bowled by Glenn Phillips. They plundered 16 runs from the 19th bowled by Santner and cruised home.

Jacks was unbeaten on 32 including a six and four boundaries. Ahmed faced seven deliveries for 19 which included two sixes and a boundary.

“Having gone out on a knife edge I’m over the moon,” Jacks said after his fourth player of the match award in the tournament. “Rehan played a brilliant innings. Everyone struggled to get going on that pitch and the six he hit second ball got them rattled and I fed off him.

“Feel confident right now, calm in the middle. That can be vital. We’re going in the right direction, three wins in the Super Eight, we’re very happy.”

Santner chose to bat first, as both teams wanted, and his team made 159-7.

Tim Seifert and Finn Allen opened with 64 in seven overs but they lost wickets frequently from then on. Phillips top-scored with 39. New Zealand scored only 24 runs in the last three overs.

Spinners Jacks, Adil Rashid and Ahmed took two wickets each.