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Gujarat Titans made a splash on their debut, going all the way to win the 2022 Indian Premier League, beating Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final.
At their home ground of Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat were on a roll in the title clash as they produced a clinical performance to notch up a seven-wicket victory.
GT skipper Hardik Pandya led from the front as he produced an all-round performance as they chased down a 131-run target with ease with 11 balls to spare. Gujarat lost Wriddhiman Saha (5) cheaply as Prasidh Krishna (1/40) castled the opener.
Adding pressure on GT was Trent Boult's maiden over with the new ball. Matthew Wade tried to break the shackles with a six but Boult had the last laugh as the left handed batter was dismissed, unable to clear the inside circle.
It brought Pandya (34) and Shubman Gill (45 not out) together in the middle as Rajasthan bowled with discipline to peg back GT to 31/2 in six overs. RR were smart enough to keep up the pressure as Gujarat reached 54/2 at the halfway stage, which meant they needed 77 runs in the final 10 overs.
Pandya upped the ante with two boundaries and a six against R Ashwin (0/32) but Yuzvendra Chahal ended the burgeoning partnership on 63 runs, inducing an edge of the GT skipper at slips.
In came David Miller at 97/3 and he soaked up the pressure with 22 off 24 balls as Gujarat were largely untroubled from them on as Gill anchored the innings and the South African struck two meaty blows to push them closer to their target.
Gill put the finishing touches on their victory with a six off Obed McCoy (0/26).
Rajasthan won the toss and selected to bat, having brought in Lockie Ferguson in place of Alzarri Joseph in their playing XI. But it was their batting that apparently needed firepower as their openers Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal were too circumspect against GT[s new ball bowlers.
Jaiswal then shifted gears as he belted two sixes but was caught by Sai Kishore off Yash Dayal in the fourth over. RR captain Sanju Samson (14 off 11) along with Buttler took RR to 45/1 after six overs.
Buttler creamed Ferguson for two consecutive boundaries as Pandya his counterpart through a miscued shot. RR reached 77/2 in 10 overs and were dealt a blow as Buttler fell to Rashid Khan.
It was too big a blow for Rajasthan to recover from.
Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans 133/3 (Shubman Gill 45*, Hardik Pandya 34; Trent Boult 1-14) beat Rajasthan Royals 130/9 (Jos Buttler 39, Yashasvi Jaiswal 22; Hardik Pandya 3-17) by 7 wickets.
