Former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary praised Washington Sundar after Gujarat Titans claimed a four-wicket win against Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday. While batting at number five, Sundar scored a match-winning knock of 40 runs off 23 balls with the help of five fours and one six in the run chase of 164.

Tiwary said Sundar had a point to prove after he was demoted in the batting order. Nishant Sidhu, who was making his IPL debut, was promoted ahead of Sundar and batted at number four.

“He emerged as a march-winner for them, and this season, GT retained him as their No.4 batter, they put their trust in him. But today, Nishant Sindhu was sent in ahead of him. So, Washington Sundar had to prove, he must have gone like, ‘How could you send Nishant ahead of me?’ So he had a point to prove after that. The way he finished the game under pressure, it shows that how good a player he is,” Manoj Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.

On the other hand, former Indian Test opener Virender Sehwag reckons exposure to international cricket has helped GT opener Sai Sudharsan elevate his game further in the IPL. Sudharsan scored a fine knock of 57 runs off 41 balls against PBKS.

“He batted without taking any risk, but he got out at the wrong time. If he was there, the game would have been finished earlier. But he is a top batter, he has been part of the Test team as well and has performed well. So that boosts your confidence, and when you come into the IPL after that, it is like their bread and butter, and they definitely score here,” he said on Cricbuzz.

“It is not like his strike rate was quite high today or something, but he knew that the game situation was such that a strike rate of 170-180 was not needed,” he added.

Gujarat Titans will next take on Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur on Saturday.