The Sunrisers Hyderabad crashed to their second straight defeat in the Champions League T20, with the Titans outplaying them in all departments on a day that the IPL side will want to put behind them quickly.
It was a completely one-sided affair at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi, with the Titans hauling down the 146-run target with incredible ease in just 16.3 overs with eight wickets in hand.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad had got themselves to 145 for seven after their 20 overs, after some initial hitting from Shikhar Dhawan, and a final over assault from Dale Steyn. However, it proved to be far from enough as the Titans romped to four points.
The Hyderabad franchise are now in danger of missing out on a semifinal spot and will need to depend on a couple of results from the other teams if they are to make the last four.
The total was as easy as an apple pie for the Titans, with openers Henry Davids and Jacques Rudolph taking the game away from the Sunrisers in some style.
The openers went at nearly ten runs an over, when the required rate was just over seven and despite the IPL side's best efforts, it just wasn't enough, with sixes and fours raining at will from the blades of Davids and Rudolph (49 n.o., 42b, 3x4, 2x6).
Davids (64, 42b, 7x4, 4x6) fell with the match already won, and A.B. De Villiers followed suit, but it was too little too late for the IPL team.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad was a strange old one, where the two openers Shikhar Dhawan and Parthiv Patel gave their side a good start, then they lost their way in the middle remarkably, before Dale Steyn, of all people, pulled them back to respectability with a final over to remember.
Dhawan was at his glorious best at the top, playing a few delightful strokes, as the Sunrisers looked to bank on their skipper to play a big innings.
Both Dhawan and Patel (26, 24b, 2x4, 2x6) were particularly severe on the Titans' two tall fast bowlers Morne Morkel and Marchant De Lange.
However, Dhawan, who was just absolutely murdering the opposition bowlers, could not continue the assault and the left-hander's wicket, with the Sunrisers on 62 in 6.3 overs, triggered a period of lull and then collapse.
Dhawan (37, 21b, 7x4, 1x6) just lent into a wide ball from David Wiese, but unfortunately found Morkel at third man.
Patel didn't last too long after that, with Wiese (three for 17) again doing the trick, sneaking a slow ball through the left-hander's defences.
J.P. Duminy (17 in 28) made a solid start to the tournament, but has struggled in the past couple of games and just could not get going against his fellow South African side.
The Sunrisers' decision to send youngsters Hanuma Vihari and then Biplab Samantray could also be questioned, with both batsmen doing their team and the run rate no favours, while holding back the likes of Thisara Perera and Darren Sammy.
All five of those batsmen left in a hurry as the Sunrisers slumped to 112 for seven with just over two overs to go.
A score over 140 looked out of reach at that point, and continued to do so until the final over. However, Steyn (27, 12b, 3x4, 2x6), decided to wield the wood instead of the leather to good effect for once, smashing De Lange for two sixes and two fours as the final over yielded a precious 21 runs, which took the IPL side well into the 140s.
