‘Admiration for them growing’: Gujarat dominate Rajasthan to reach the finals of Indian T20 League 2022
David Miller-Hardik Pandya (Image Source: BCCI/IPL)
The Qualifier 1 of the Indian T20 League 2022 saw Gujarat and Rajasthan square off against each other at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The batter enjoyed the conditions at the stadium and gifted the fans a high-scoring thriller.
Gujarat won the toss and Hardik Pandya decided to field first. They lost Yashashvi Jaiswal (3 of 8) early. He was dismissed in the 2nd over of the match by Yash Dayal. Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler stabilized the innings from there on with a 68 runs partnership from 47 balls. The duo got separated in the 10the over when Samson (47 of 26) was dismissed by Sai Kishore. Buttler however gained in strength as he spent more time in the middle. The last phase of his innings just saw him throwing the bat and everything and it yielded results as well. Buttler batted till the last over of the innings and scored 89 runs off 56 balls. His resolute and dynamic knock helped Rajasthan reach a formidable total of 188 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in their 20 overs. Mohammed Shami, Yash Dayal, Sai Kishore, and Hardik Pandya each picked one wicket apiece.
Gujarat in pursuit of the huge total lost Wriddhiman Saha in the very first over without a run being put on the board. Matthew Wade joined Shubman Gill at this stage. The duo got the chase back on track after the initial jolt. Gill was at his sublime best playing some marvelous strokes all around the ground. The duo was steadily taking the match away from Sanju Samson’s side. But against the run of the play in the 8th over of the innings Gill (35 of 21) fell victim to an unfortunate run out. This wicket marked the end of a 72 runs partnership between the duo. When Gill walked back Gujarat’s score was 72 for 2 in 7.4 overs. Gill’s wicket was soon followed by Wade’s departure in the 10th over the innings. The score at Wade’s dismissal was 85 for 3 in 9.3 overs. The fall of two quick wickets and a few good overs from Rajasthan was bringing the Men in Pink back into the match. But a dynamic knock from the skipper Hardik Pandya meant that Gujarat got themselves into a situation from where it was their match to lose. David Miller played a perfect supporting role to his skipper. At the end of the 15th over Gujarat was 139 for 5 needing 50 runs and, aggressive30 balls. They were at the doorsteps of making it to the finals in their debut season in the Indian T20 League.
The duo stayed unbeaten till the end of the innings and made Gujarat the first finalists of the Indian T20 League 2022. Hardik Pandya remained unbeaten on 40 off 27 balls, while Miller stayed not out at 68 off 38 balls. Gujarat won the match by 7 wickets with 3 balls remaining. They will no be waiting to see who turn out to be their opponent in the finals on the 29th of May, 2022.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match.
Jos Butler came to the party again for Rajashthan royals at the right time. #RRvsGT
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 24, 2022
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/1529131108490956807?s=20&t=H-CcV7PH-ayTCgo-RAaEKQ
https://twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/status/1529128677090689024?s=20&t=H-CcV7PH-ayTCgo-RAaEKQ
https://twitter.com/MichaelVaughan/status/1529135124780023809?s=20&t=H-CcV7PH-ayTCgo-RAaEKQ
If Rajasthan Royals win the game, Jos Buttler will probably be the Player of the Match. But Sanju Samson's attacking 47 (26) was more impactful. He kept scoring runs at a brisk rate even after an early wicket, that too with Buttler struggling to score at the other end.#GTvRR
— Prasenjit Dey (@CricPrasen) May 24, 2022
Tremendous start by @gujarat_titans after that early wicket. This game is alive. What a game we have!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 24, 2022
https://twitter.com/WasimJaffer14/status/1529115338650042375?s=20&t=H-CcV7PH-ayTCgo-RAaEKQ
#GujaratTitans proved you don’t need superstars to win the t20 format. 4-5 match winners will do the job. #GTvRR #RRvGT @gujarat_titans #AavaDe
— Meeraj (@meerajrules) May 24, 2022
Obed McCoy is proving to be the difference between @gujarat_titans and @rajasthanroyals at the #EdenGardens in #Kolkata #TATAIPL2022 #GTvRR #RRvGT
— Souvik Bhattacharya (@imsouvikb) May 24, 2022
Superb partnership between Hardik Pandya & Miller.. #RR has lost its momentum. Failed to take wickets at regular intervals.
Riyan Parag is behaving like he's the only player contributing there at the field. #GTvsRR #RRvGT #GTvRR #IPL2022— Atul Tiwari (@iTiwariAtul) May 24, 2022
The Captain #HardikPandya leading from the front for #GujaratTitans.
He Really impressed me with both his batting and captaincy this season (and a respectable economy of 7.7 in 26 overs with the ball as well).#GTvRR #RRvsGT #IPL2022 #Qualifier1 #TATAIPL #GTvsRR pic.twitter.com/4I6qGV2RBB
— Raghav Acharya (@raghavacharya95) May 24, 2022
https://twitter.com/StarSportsIndia/status/1529156104986546176?s=20&t=H-CcV7PH-ayTCgo-RAaEKQ
Have never seen a set of bowlers this out of control ever before? What's going on? #GTvRR #IPL2022
— Shivani Gupta (@ShivaniGupta_5) May 24, 2022
This is what David Miller can do if you give him a consistent run.. #GTvRR
— Abhijeet ♞ (@TheYorkerBall) May 24, 2022
Admiration for @gujarat_titans growing with every game and every passage of play.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 24, 2022
https://twitter.com/IrfanPathan/status/1529161172607307776?s=20&t=H-CcV7PH-ayTCgo-RAaEKQ
https://twitter.com/ReemaMalhotra8/status/1529161054840057856?s=20&t=H-CcV7PH-ayTCgo-RAaEKQ
