The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League has seen a number of veteran Indian cricketers prove their worth once again. One of those veterans is the wicketkeeper batter for the defending champion Gujarat Titans, Wriddhiman Saha. The 38-year-old was seen in a blistering form on Sunday when his team took on Lucknow Super Giants at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Saha smashed the fastest IPL fifty for GT off just 20 balls and scored 81 off 43, with four sixes and 10 fours at a strike rate of 188.37. It was his inning that helped his team register their highest IPL total of 227/2.
In the end, they registered an easy win of 56 over LSG and have almost qualified for the playoffs. However, apart from his batting, one other thing caught the limelight during the game, and it happened when GT came to the field in the second inning.
The defending champion tried to substitute Saha with KS Bharat. But the umpires didn’t allow that. As a result, the 38-year-old had to rush to the field, and in hurry, he wore his trousers the other way around. After watching him like that, GT players including Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, and LSG opener Quinton de Kock burst into laughter, which was caught on the camera.
However, after the win, Saha revealed why it happened. In an interaction with Bharat, the 38-year-old said, “I told the umpires that you are having the needling session, but they didn’t allow me to keep. I was eating my food and the physio said I need to take my medicine too. So I had to wear my pants in a hurry and it was worn the other way around. After two overs I returned and you did a wonderful job.”
Speaking of the match, Shubman Gill won “player of the game.” He scored an unbeaten 94 off 51 in the first inning. Chasing the target, LSG had a good start with Kyle Mayers (48 off 32) and De Kock (70 off 41). But none of the other batters could contribute much. As a result, Lucknow only managed 171/7 and lost by 56 runs.