3 for 17 and Royals 34 flat; Butler top-scored with 39, while the other batsmen failed to go; Gill and Miller won the Gujarat team
3 for 17 and Royals 34 flat; Butler top-scored with 39, while the other batsmen failed to go; Gill and Miller won the Gujarat team
In front of a raucous home crowd, Gujarat Titans thrashed Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets to claim the Indian Premier League title here on Sunday.
The packed house at the Narendra Modi Stadium, which had over 100,000 spectators in the night, the roof came down after Shubman Gill scored the winning run.
stand outside
The win completed a remarkable campaign for Gujarat, one of two new teams in the IPL. From dominating the group stage games to being unbeaten in the playoff rounds, Gujarat has been the standout side of the tournament.
Chasing 131 runs, Gujarat got off to a slow start. Captain Hardik Pandya (34, 30B, 3×4, 1×6) and Gill (No 45, 43B, 3×4, 1×6) put the team in a comfortable position with a 63-run third wicket stand.
There were some tense faces in the stands when Hardik slipped away Yuzvendra Chahal, but next man David Miller calmed all nerves with an unbeaten 32.
Gill was lucky that he was relieved in the first over, when he was yet to open his account. An inside edge off Trent Boult lobbed Chahal who took a simple catch at square leg. When Hardik was on three, Shimron Hetmyer, running from cover, failed to seize a tough opportunity.
It was a surprise when the Royals decided to bat first. The Royals had won their previous match in the chase, and lost to Qualifier 1 Titans while batting first. Royals captain Sanju Samson justified the decision at the toss ceremony, saying the pitch looked dry.
This move did not work, as Rajasthan finished with a low score. Hardik was the main three-wicket hauler.
Hardik took an awkward length outside off, which made it difficult for the batsmen to get him out. Hardik crushed the Royals’ batting roots by dismissing his opposite numbers Samson, Jos Buttler and Hetmyer.
Rashid Khan, who took the turn with his fast, flat balls, also proved to be a handful. The Afghanistan spinner and Hardik conceded only 35 runs in eight overs.
The Royals were down in a hole after the departure of Jos Buttler (39, 35b, 5×4). Buttler, in form after his unbeaten century on Friday, was unusually subdued. He struggled to get it out of the square, eventually falling to Hardik’s ball.
unwell
Devdutt Padikkal was completely out in two balls of his 10 deliveries. When Butler and Padikkal were together, the run-rate slowed down dramatically. Later things did not get much better, as the chasing batsmen failed to fire.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (22, 16b, 1×4, 2×6) got some sweet blows with the bat until he made a mistake at deep square leg to pull Yash Dayal to R Sai Kishore.
Dayal (1/18) and Mohammed Shami (1/33) were impressive with the new ball.
Scorecard:
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal c Sai Kishore b Yash Dayal 22, Jos Buttler c Saha b Hardik Pandya 39, Sanju Samson c Sai Kishore b Hardik Pandya 14, Devdutt Padikkal c Shami b Rashid Khan 2, Shimron Hetmyer c and b Hardik Pandya 11, Ravichandran Ashwin c Miller b Sai Kishore 6, Riyan Parag b Shami 15, Trent Boult c Rahul Tewatia b Sai Kishore 11, Obed McCoy 8 run out, Prashant Krishna not out 0
Excessive: (lb-2) 2
gross: 130/9 in 20 overs
Fall of wickets: 31-1, 60-2, 79-3, 79-4, 94-5, 98-6, 112-7, 130-8, 130-9 Bowling: Mohammed Shami 4-0-33-1, Yash Dayal 3 -0-18-1, Lockie Ferguson 3-0-22-0, Rashid Khan 4-0-18-1. Hardik Pandya 4-0-17-3, Ravi Srinivasan Sai Kishore 2-0-20-2.
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha b Famous 5, Shubman Gill not out 45, Matthew Wade c Riyan Parag b 8, Hardik Pandya c Jaiswal b Chahal 34, David Miller not out 32
Excessive: (lb-1, w-8) 9
gross: 133/3 in 18.1 overs
Fall of wickets: 9-1, 23-2, 86-3 Bowling: Trent Boult 4-1-14-1, Famous Krishna 4-0-40-1, Yuzvendra Chahal 4-0-20-1, Obed McCoy 3.1-0-26 -0, Ravichandran Ashwin 3-03-2-0.
Teams:
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravi Srinivasan, Sai Kishore, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samso (w/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Sanam Krishna, Obed McCoy, Yuzvendra Chahal.