In a contest between the two finalists of last season’s Indian Premier League (IPL), being played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Rajasthan Royals handed Gujarat Titans a three-wicket defeat. Chasing a target of 178 runs, the Royals got over the line with four deliveries to spare.
Rajasthan had the worst plausible start, losing both their openers inside the third over, with only four runs on the board. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the first to depart, with Hardik Pandya getting the better of the in-form youngster, before Mohammed Shami uprooted the stumps of England’s Jos Buttler.
Devdutt Padikkal and Sanju Samson then built a 43-run third-wicket stand, but just when Rajasthan were preparing to switch gears, they had yet another setback with Rashid Khan waving his wand of magic and dismissing Devdutt Padikkal.
Being re-introduced into the team, Riyan Parag could not justify his selection after returning with only 5 runs, and at that stage, it seemed that the game is all but in Gujarat’s bag. However, skipper Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer turned the tables with their pyrotechnics.
Samson took Rashid to the cleaners, whilst after his dismissal in the 15th over, it was Dhruv Jurel’s turn to play yet another impressive cameo – this time yielding 18 runs in 10 deliveries. Rajasthan needed 17 runs off 10 deliveries when he lost his wicket, but the Royals found a new saviour in Ravichandran Ashwin, who scored 10 runs in only three deliveries – shaming a six and a four off Shami’s bowling. In the last over, Hetmyer secured the two invaluable points with a six against Noor Ahmad.
Miller, Manohar's Late Flourish Got Gujarat Titans To 177
Earlier, Gujarat did not have the start fans usually associate them with, as the batter who had the responsibility of taking the attack to the bowlers in the powerplay, Wriddhiman Saha could last only three deliveries before losing his wicket to Trent Boult.
The next three overs saw Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan keeping the scoreboard ticking for Gujarat, albeit at a pace that didn’t quite bother the Royals.
The latter looked in good touch for his 19-ball 20, but an excellent fielding effort by Jos Buttler meant that the youngster could not convert into what would have been his third IPL 2023 half-century.
With the scoring rate not being up to the mark, Gill and his captain, Hardik Pandya decided to change a thing or two, in terms of the side’s batting approach. The pair went after the spinners and lodged some humongous hits, courtesy of which Gujarat scored 56 runs between the sixth and the tenth over.
Having scored 88/2 at the halfway stage, the defending champions looked set for a score of around 190, but Pandya’s departure in the 11th over, off Yuzvendra Chahal’s bowling, resulted in yet another dip in the scoring rate.
David Miller took his time to get settled, with the Titans not hitting a boundary for 28 deliveries – ultimately allowing the Royals to dominate the innings’ second phase. Gill, too, struggled to get a move on after what was a fiery start, and had to depart in the 16th over when he lost his wicket to Sandeep Sharma.
Gujarat’s score read only 125/4 after 16 overs, but with only four overs to spare, Miller finally decided not to spare any bowler. At the other end, he found a commendable companion in Abhinav Manohar, who played a crucial cameo of 27 runs from only 13 deliveries.
Miller, on the other hand, scored 46 runs in 30 deliveries, before becoming Sandeep Sharma’s second victim of the day, as the latter recorded impressive figures of 4-0-25-2.
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