The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 saw a team - Gujarat Titans (GT) - who had won three back-to-back games, lose to a side - Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) - that just managed a victory in their previous game.
The Hyderabad franchise who were in search of a second win of the season had opted to bowl first and restricted the Gujarat side who posted 163 runs in 20 overs. While Gujarat lost Shubman Gill on just seven runs and the further dismissal of Sai Sudharsan and Matthew Wade added to their woes.
Skipper Hardik Pandya along with IPL debutant Abhinav Manohar managed to stablaize the innings. The new lad had scored 35 runs from 21 balls against SRH and even survived three dropped chances.
The Karnataka's hard-hitting middle-order batter was first dropped by Aiden Markram and then he was given another lease when he was again dropped by Rahul Tripathi at long-off again.
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However, SRH got rid of Manohar after Rahul Tripathi finally managed to pluck a difficult catch. He departed after adding 50 runs to the scoreboard with the skipper Pandya.
Talking about his luck and the chances he received, Manohar said, "The stars were in the right place today. I got three chances, but I should have carried it on. I won't get these many lives every day. We looked to play till the 17th over and then go after it. He was set, so I decided to go after".
Manohar feels that getting three chances is something he won't get again. An unbeaten 50 from Pandya and 35 from Manohar took GT to 162/7 against SRH.
Manohar was picked by Gujarat for Rs 2.6 crores. The bid came after he had played crucial knocks for his home team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2021. Manohar had hit back-to-back fours in a clash with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Wankhede Stadium last week, which had ensured a comfortable victory by five wickets.
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Skipper Pandya also heaped praises for the young player and said, "Manohar is someone to look at with the talent he has. You would hear a lot more about Abhinav Manohar in the future."
Gujarat Titans will next face Rajasthan Royals on April 14 at Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.
