Indian Premier League (IPL) has got a new champion now as Gujarat Titans (GT) pulled off a fantastic win in the final of their debut season. The high-flying Rajasthan Royals (RR) never looked comfortable in the game and as a result, they suffered a crushing seven-wicket defeat. While many players contributed to GT’s stellar win, skipper Hardik Pandya came up with an all-around performance.
Earlier in the match, after winning the toss, RR skipper, Sanju Samson decided to bat first citing the scoreboard pressure in a big game at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The Men in Pink got off to a decent start with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler adding 31 runs for the opening wicket. GT skipper Hardik Pandya churned out a match-winning spell in the middle overs and dismissed the likes of Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, and Shimron Hetmyer.
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Notably, Buttler managed to get going but when he was looking to change gear, Hardik dismissed him for 39 off 35 balls. The Royals couldn’t recover afterward as GT bowlers left no stone unturned. As a result, the inaugural-season champions were restricted to a paltry 130/9 in their allotted 20 overs.
During the chase, the Titans didn’t get off to a great start either as the in-form Wriddhiman Saha perished for just five runs. Even Matthew Wade failed to get going as he was dismissed by Prasidh Krishna. However, then arrived at Hardik Pandya in the middle and he made sure that his team suffered no further hiccups in the chase. The all-rounder joined forces with Shubman Gill and the duo added 63 runs for the third wicket.
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Meanwhile, some hopes ignited in the RR camp when Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Hardik for 34. However, in walked David Miller and he played another fiery knock in a crunch situation. The southpaw scored an unbeaten 32 off 19 deliveries as GT crossed the line in 18.1 overs, clinching the contest by seven wickets. Credit must also go to Shubman Gill, who remained unbeaten at 45.
Kieron Pollard went on to congratulate Hardik Pandya on the massive victory. He left a comment on Hardik Pandya’s Instagram post regarding the win.
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