Nobody gave them a chance but Gujarat Titans stunned everyone by winning the Indian Premier League title in the Dream Maiden season after defying all pre-tournament predictions after a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in the final here on Sunday. Gujarat’s high-class bowling attack, led by captain Hardik Pandya (3/17), restricted Rajasthan Royals’ batting unit to 130 for nine after losing the toss. Shubman Gill and David Miller remained unbeaten on 45 and 32 runs respectively to give their team an emphatic victory.
It should have been a comfortable chase but Rajasthan won their hearts to make it an interesting final. As they showed throughout the season, Gujarat remained calm in tough conditions and chased down the target in 18.1 overs.
Many did not give Gujarat a chance in their first season especially after a mixed auction where they waited till the end to secure the services of wicketkeepers Wriddhiman Saha and Matthew Wade.
It was not a team full of star players, but Hardik impressed with his leadership and got the best out of his colleagues.
His performances with bat and ball also contributed greatly to the team’s victory, as well as the ability to bounce back from any position through the brilliance of Miller and Rahul Teotia.
After posting a tremendous total, Rajasthan had to make a special effort with the ball to get back into the game.
The quick pair of Trent Boult and the famous Krishna produced a scintillating powerplay to reduce Gujarat to 31 for two with Wriddhiman Saha (5) and Matthew Wade (8) back in the dugout.
Got Krishna to seam back from good length to breach Saha’s defense and crash into the stumps.
Boult, who also bowled a maiden over in his well-mannered spell, removed Wade. If Yuzvendra Chahal had taken a simple catch of Gill off Boult in the first over of the innings, Gujarat would have gone down by three in the powerplay.
Hardik and Gill struggled to get boundaries but never felt overly pressured as the asking rate remained very under control.
R Ashwin is introduced in the 12th over and Hardik (34 off 30) decides to go after him, collecting a four and a six off successive deliveries to form a 50-run partnership with Gill and give Gujarat 12 overs I took two wickets for 77 runs.
The skipper fell on Chahal’s brilliant leg break but Gill and Miller got the job done in the end. Gill’s winning six reverberated throughout the stadium, housing more than one lakh people.
Earlier, Hardik (3/17) struck thrice in his four overs while Rashid Khan (1/18) again took the big stage to lead his team to the title in their first season.
Rajasthan did not have a good start after skipper Sanju Samson decided to get runs on the board in a big final.
The Gujarat bowlers were able to keep the pressure on the opposition, though Jos Buttler (39 off 35) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (22 off 16) tried their best to break free.
Jaiswal, who looked unstable against Mohammed Shami’s pace and swing, took more chances than Butler at the start of the innings.
Of the shots Jaiswal tried, his most convincing stroke was a beautifully shot six off Shami. After hitting Yash Dayal for a six on the long leg, the southpaw tries hard and gets stuck in the deep. The extra bounce prompted Mishit.
Buttler, who opened his innings with a crisp square cut, was caught in the middle by Samson (14 off 11).
Knowing full well that both the right-handers from Rajasthan struggle against Rashid Khan, Hardik brought the star spinner into the attack in the powerplay itself.
Buttler and Samson both chose to play safe against Rashid as Rajasthan reached 44 for one in the powerplay.
The in-form Buttler decided to force the issue as he smashed Lockie Ferguson over the cover fielder before cutting successive boundaries.
The New Zealander was generating serious pace and was hitting 157.3 kmph, the fastest ball of the tournament.
Samson did not last long and was dismissed by his opposite number Hardik on the second ball of the game. Hardik hit a hard length and Samson was caught off-side for a pull shot, leaving Rajasthan for 60 for two in 8.2 overs.
Rajasthan’s struggle worsened when Devdutt Padikkal (2) and Buttler, who took eight deliveries, were dismissed within a span of three balls.
Rajasthan were going to score a ball after 14 overs, so big hit time was needed.
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However, Hardik made 94 for five by catching and bowling the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer.
Ashwin died in the next over, destroying all hopes of Rajasthan’s fight.
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