'Something great for franchise cricket and eventually for India' - Hardik Pandya hails Sai Sudharsan after terrific performance against DC

After losing three quick wickets of Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya, Gujarat Titans were under tremendous pressure in the match against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Chasing a target of 163 runs, they needed someone to take control of the situation and youngster Sai Sudharsan rose to the occasion. The 21-year-old scored 62* runs off 48 deliveries to bail GT out of a tricky situation and help the team win their second consecutive match in IPL 2023.

Appreciating his performance, skipper Hardik Pandya stated that the Chennai-born cricketer is batting terrifically, and if he manages to bat the way he is at the moment, he can do wonders in franchise cricket and eventually India cricket in the next couple of years.

“He (Sai Sudharsan) has been batting terrifically. Credit to the support staff and to him as well. The amount of batting he's done in the last 15 days, all the result you see is all his hard work. Going forward, if I'm not wrong, in two years, he'll do something great for franchise cricket and eventually for India cricket as well,” Pandya said in the post-match presentation.

Notably, Sai also impressed everyone in GT’s opening clash against Chennai Super Kings. After Kane Williamson suffered an injury and was ruled out of the match, he came in as an impact player and played a 22-run knock before Rajvardhan Hangargekar got the better of him. Currently, he ranks fifth in the IPL Orange Cap 2023 list and has the capability to retain his position if not getting better.

Wasn't under pressure, I was just calculating the right things: Sai

After his match-winning knock against DC, Sai revealed that he was not under pressure but was rather thinking about the right options. He also mentioned that his intentions were to take the game deep and win it from there.

“I was thinking what has to be done right. I wasn't under pressure, I was just calculating the right things. It was a bit low and skidding through, I was thinking of taking the right options. My plan was to take the game deep and take it through. Weathering the storm early on (was more satisfying). It was quite difficult, it was seaming initially, that was the highlight for me,” Sudharsan said.