Gujarat, Bengaluru and Punjab advance to IPL playoffs

NEW DELHI (AP) — Sai Sudharsan hit 108 not out off 61 balls as Gujarat Titans thrashed Delhi Capitals by 10 wickets on Sunday and sealed its spot in the Indian Premier League playoffs.

Sudharsan shared a double-century unbeaten opening stand with skipper Shubman Gill – the third equal highest by runs in the IPL – as the Titans reached 205-0 in 19 overs.

Gill scored 93 not out off 53 deliveries.

Their stand canceled out Lokesh Rahul’s 65-ball 112 not out — his fifth IPL century – in Delhi’s 199-3 in 20 overs. It was Delhi’s fifth loss in seven games.

Gujarat climbed to the top of the IPL points table with 18 points from 12 games. Its victory over fifth-placed Delhi also meant that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (second, 17 points) and Punjab Kings (third, 17 points) also advanced to the playoffs.

Delhi has 13 points and is a point behind fourth-placed Mumbai Indians, who occupy the fourth and final playoff spot, with two regular season matches remaining. Lucknow Super Giants is currently seventh with 10 points from only 11 games.

Punjab beat Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs earlier Sunday to secure its playoff spot.

Rahul’s century in vain

Rahul scored his fifth IPL century overall as Delhi rode on a blistering knock to present a challenging score.

He hit 14 fours and four sixes, and put on a vital 90 off 52 balls with Abhishek Porel (30). Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs also had cameos – but there wasn’t a second major contribution alongside Rahul, who reached 100 off 60 balls.

In reply, Gujarat relied on its in-form openers to confirm a spot in the knockouts. The duo dominated Delhi’s bowling, hitting 11 sixes and 15 fours altogether.

Gill scored 50 off 33 balls, including four sixes, and then added another three.

Sudharsan hit 12 fours and four sixes. Three of those sixes came after he scored 50 off 30 balls and helped him gallop to a second IPL century.

Punjab wins

Nehal Wadhera scored 70 off 37 balls to lead Punjab Kings to a 10-run win over Rajasthan Royals.

Wadhera smashed five sixes and five fours in his second half-century of the season in Punjab’s 219-5 in 20 overs. Shashank Singh’s 59 not out off 30 balls also helped the Kings cross the 200-mark.

Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar then took 3-22 in four overs as Rajasthan’s chase lost momentum despite half-centuries from Yashasvi Jaisal and Dhruv Jurel. The Royals were restricted to 209-7 for a 10th loss this season.

Wadhera took charge of the innings after Punjab was down to 34-3 in 3.1 overs, rebuilding it with a 67-run partnership off 44 balls with skipper Shreyas Iyer, who scored 30 off 25 balls.

Wadhera reached 50 off 25 balls, and then added 58 off 33 with Shashank Singh which set up the base for a 200-plus score.

Singh hit five fours and three sixes, while also finding an able partner in Azmatullah Omarzai, who scored 21 not out off nine balls. The duo added 60 runs off the last four overs.

In reply, Rajasthan made a quick-fire start. Jaiswal took 22 runs off the first over, and added 76 off 29 balls with his teenage opening partner Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

The latter scored 40 off 15 balls, with four sixes, before he was caught off Brar in the fifth over. Jaiswal carried on despite the breakthrough, scoring 50 off 25 balls, before he holed out too – again off Brar in the ninth over.

Rajasthan started losing steam afterward with Sanju Samson (20) and Riyan Parag (13) unable to keep up the momentum.

Jurel scored 53 off 31 balls – his second half-century of the season – to keep the chase going, but Marco Jansen and Omarzai combined for four wickets to help Punjab gain valuable points.

Fans get to see some cricket

The IPL’s much-anticipated restart had been delayed for another day on Saturday after the Royal Challengers Bengaluru-Kolkata Knight Riders game was washed out.

The IPL was suspended for a week to Friday due to the military showdown between India and Pakistan. The Pakistan Super League resumed on Saturday.

The IPL final, originally scheduled for May 25, was moved to June 3.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket