Gujarat Titans thrashed Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final to become IPL 2022 champions.
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Gujarat Titans maintained a perfect record in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 by thrashing Rajasthan Royals (RR) by seven wickets in the final to emerge as champions on Sunday. There will be a new name etched in the IPL trophy as the debutant side, who became the first team to book the playoffs spot and the first to book a spot in the final, won the IPL title as a newcomers. The victory, incidentally, meant that Gujarat Titans emulated runners-up Rajasthan Royals who were the only franchise to win the lucrative tournament in the debut season back in 2008.
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Gujarat Titans were in control of the proceedings from the onset of the summit clash. However, in the chase, the Ahmedabad franchise lost their top order batters Wriddhiman Saha (5) and Matthew Wade (8) cheaply. But Shubman Gill (45 not out) held the fort for GT with crucial knocks from Hardik Pandya (34) and David Miller (32 not out). Gill hit three boundaries and the match-winning six in his unbeaten knock of 43 balls while Miller smashed three fours and one hit over the fence in his 19-ball unbeaten stay. Rajasthan Royals’ experienced campaigners Trent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal picked up a wicket each.
Earlier, Rajasthan Royals were restricted to 130/9 after a disciplined bowling from Gujarat Titans which saw their captain Hardik Pandya picking up a three-wicket haul. RR openers Yashashvi Jaiswal (22) and Jos Buttler (39) added 31 runs for the opening wicket before the former was sent packing. The in-form English batter looked to take charge of the innings as he hit five boundaries in his 35-ball stay but failed to click on a crucial day. He has scored four centuries in the IPL 2022.
RR captain Sanju Samson (14) also looked out of touch with the incoming batters — Ravichandran Ashwin (6), Riyan Parag (15), Trent Boult (11), Obed McCoy (8) and Prasidh Krishna (0) — failing to show resilience. GT spin twins Sai Kishore (2/20) and Rashid Khan (1/18) also impressed with their economical bowling performances.
