Gujarat Titans on Thursday registered a remarkable 37-run win against Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 match no. 24 in Mumbai. The victory allowed Hardik Pandya’s side to dethrone the Royals and grab the top spot on the points table with 8 points in their kitty.
Captain Pandya continued his top form, getting a second consecutive half-century in the tournament. Batting again at no.4, the 28-year-old all-rounder scored an unbeaten 87 off just 52 deliveries, including 4 sixes and 8 boundaries. He featured in two crucial partnerships, an 86-run stand with Abhinav Manohar for the 4th wicket and an unbeaten 56-run stand with David Miller, as GT set a challenging 193-run target for the Royals.
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In reply, opener Jos Buttler provided a rollicking start with a fiery half-century but was knocked over by Lockie Ferguson right after reaching the milestone. His departure sparked a collapse of RR’s batting order and eventually, they lost the game by 37 runs.
After the defeat, Royals captain Sanju Samson lauded the ravishing knock of his counterpart, Pandya. He added that his team maintained a good run rate in the chase but the regular fall of wickets cost them the game.
“I would like to give credit to their batters. Hardik played a very good innings, they played really well to get that score. If we had wickets in hand this was chasable I feel. We were almost there in terms of run rate, in the powerplay we had a better run-rate actually, but we kept losing wickets,” Sanju told the broadcaster after losing the game.
“He (Hardik) had a really good day today, batted, bowled and fielded well. I have played enough years in this league to understand that each game is crucial. Very important to learn and come back stronger in the next game,” he added.
Rajasthan Royals made a surprise move by sending Ravichandran Ashwin at no. 3. When asked about the strategy, Sanju said, “I was doing No. 3 continuously till last season. So, we decided to have that flexibility, come down at No. 4 or 5 or wherever the team needs me. Having someone like R Ashwin allows us to do that, Devdutt Padikkal batted 3 in the first three games. So, it all depends on the combination we are playing.”
RR will now face Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2022 match no. 30 on April 18 at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium.
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