In the qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Gujarat Titans (GT) beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by seven wickets at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata.
GT won the toss and decided to bowl first. The bowlers did a good job as nobody knew what score was m enough on this good batting track. Hardik Pandya, Alzarri Joseph, and Rashid Khan were all impressive in the first innings which helped them restrict the opposition to 188/6 in 20 overs.
In the chase, the pitch was a bit sticky which could have been a bit difficult for the batters but the GT batters had knowledge of the target and batted accordingly. Wriddhiman Saha was out on a duck but Shubman Gill (35), from the other end, got the all-important start in the powerplay. Mathew Wade (35) helped Gill to put on a partnership after losing an early wicket. The duo scored 72 runs together for the second wicket partnership which built a foundation for the chase. After losing both the batsmen, it was the captain’s turn to take GT home. Pandya (40*) along with David Miller (68*) took the Gujarat based team to the finals in the last over. Miller hammered five sixes and three fours to ensure the GT plays their ever match as final in Ahmedabad.
The innings began well for the Rajasthan based team as Jos Buttler (89) who was out of form for a while, smashed an amazing fifty. Buttler started slow but gradually improved and score at the strike 158.93. Captain Sanju Samson (46) looked in great touch as he helped the Englishman to take RR to a respectable score.
It was a decent bowling effort by the GT bowlers as, Pandya, Sai Kishore, Yash Dayal and Mohammed Shami, all got one wicket each.
Obed McCoy got one wicket in his quota of four overs but conceded too many runs. Trent Boult also got one in the second innings.
David Miller was adjudged Man of the Match for his powerful batting show. Following this win, GT have qualified for the finals of the IPL 2022.
Scorecard:
Rajasthan Royals: 188/6, Overs 20, Jos Buttler 89, Hardik Pandya 1/14
Gujarat Titans: 191/3, Overs 19.3, David Miller 68*, Trent Boult 1/38