Gujarat Titans reached the final of Indian Premier League 2022 after defeating Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday. The GT victory was scripted by David Miller (68 not out) and Hardik Pandya (40 not out) who were involved in an unbroken 106-run stand off 60 deliveries for the fourth wicket.
Gujarat Titans, playing their first season in the Indian Premier League, finished on top of the points table and were the first team to reach the playoffs. Rajasthan Royals will get another chance after finishing second in the points table. They will play the winner of the Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Eliminator for a second shot at the final.
Congratulations to the @gujarat_titans as they march into the Final in their maiden IPL season!
Stunning performance by @hardikpandya7 & Co to beat #RR by 7 wickets in Qualifier 1 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
scorecard https://t.co/O3T1ww9yVk#TATAIPL , #GTvRR pic.twitter.com/yhpj77nobA
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 24, 202
RR vs GT, IPL 2022 Qualifier 1 Highlights
Gujarat Titans were jolted early in their chase of 189 when Trent Boult dismissed the in-form Wriddhiman Saha for a 2-ball duck. However, Shubman Gill and Matthew Wade added 72 in a little over 7 overs to give the GT in the momentum they needed in a stiff chase.
Shubman Gill was looking dangerous and had smashed 5 fours and a six before he was involved in a mix-up with Wade and was run out for 35 off 21 in the 8th over. Obed McCoy then dismissed Wade in the 10th over for 35 off 30 which brought David Miller to the crease with skipper Hardik Pandya.
CAPTAIN HARDIK SHINES AGAIN
Hardik Pandya has been in top form with the bat for the Titans this season and in a crunch game, he shone again, taking the lead in a crucial partnership with David Miller for the fourth wicket.
Besides Jos Buttler, Rajasthan Royals have banked on their spin twin R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal. However, Ashwin went for 40 runs off 4 overs, his most expensive spell in the Indian Premier League.
David Miller has been among the best finishers this season and he announced his intention with a six off Yuzvendra Chahal in the 15th over by the end of which GT needed 50 off the last 5 overs with the likes of Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan still to come in.
David Miller hit Chahal for another six off his last over and the equation was down to 23 off the last 12 balls for GT. Chahal, the bowler with the Purple Cap this summer, went wicketless in his four overs and gave away 32 runs.
KILLER MILLER AGAIN!
Hardik Pandya led from the front again to steer Gujarat Titans closer to a spot in the final. Meanwhile, David Miller, who was part of several GT triumphs in the season, hit his 12th IPL fifty.
Obed McCoy, whose 4 overs cost 40 runs for 1 wicket, gave away only 7 runs in the penultimate over, leaving GT to get 16 off 6 balls.
David Miller hit Prasidh Krishna for three sixes in the final over and sealed an emphatic victory as Gujarat Titans stormed into the final.
The Rajasthan Royals innings was all about Jos Buttler, the Orange Cap holder who stretched his tally to 718 runs. After Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl, Gujarat Titans struck immediately, Yash Dayal removed Yashasvi Jaiswal for 3 before Sanju Samson came in at No.3 and hammered 47 off 26.
Devdutt Padikkal, at No.4., scored 28 off 20 to follow up on Samson’s fireworks but Jos Buttler continued to be watchful in what was seemed like a bizarre approach at that stage. Shimron Hetmyer was unable to get going and the onus was soon on Buttler who had consumed far too many deliveries to throw it away.
Rashid Khan did not take any wickets but he strangled the Royals with a spell of 4-0-15-0 while Sai Kishore got the big wicket of Sanju Samson whose quick innings had given the team some momentum.
But Jos Buttler was saving his best for the last as RR took 64 runs off the last 5 overs of their innings. Buttler suddenly shifted gears and ended his innings with 12 fours and 2 sixes in a 56-ball 89. He was run out in the last over before Ryan Parag met a similar fate in what was a strange finish to the innings.
Hardik Pandya bowled only 2 overs but he picked the wicket of the well set Padikkal who could have caused more damage had he stayed on for longer.
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