IPL 2022: Gujarat Titans overcome Rajasthan Royals to reach final
Gujarat Titans overcame Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season on Tuesday. Asked to bat, RR posted 188/6 in 20 overs, riding on Jos Buttler's brilliant 89-run knock. In response, GT were helped by key performances to gain control as they chased down RR's score. Hardik Pandya-led GT have reached the final.
RR lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early on before Buttler and Sanju Samson added 68 runs. Buttler then joined hands with Devdutt Padikkal (28). The England international upped the ante as GT got crucial wickets at the death. In response, GT lost Wriddhiman Saha for a two-ball duck. Shubman Gill and Matthew Wade added a valiant stand. Another superb stand in the end helped GT.
Jos Buttler racked up a 56-ball 89. He slammed 12 fours and two sixes. The Englishman has become the first player to amass 700-plus runs in the ongoing season. He has 718 runs at 51.28. This was Buttler's fourth fifty in the IPL 2022 season. He has raced to 68 fours and 39 sixes.
RR skipper Samson scored a 26-ball 47 for his side. His innings was laced with five fours and three sixes. The senior RR batter has surpassed the 400-run mark this season. He has 421 runs at 30.07. Overall in the IPL, Samson has piled up 3,489 runs at 29.31. Samson has gotten past 175 IPL fours (176).
In 80 IPL games, Buttler has smashed 2,686 runs at 38.37. He registered his 15th IPL fifty. He has a strike rate of 149.55 in the IPL. Buttler has now gone past Murali Vijay's mark of 2,619 runs in the IPL.
Shubman scored a 21-ball 35 for the Titans. He has raced to 438 runs this season at 31.28. Overall, he has 1,855 runs in the IPL at 31.44. His dismissal means GT have seen eight run-outs this season. Wriddhiman (0) registered his fifth IPL duck. Matthew Wade showed his attributes with a score of 35. This is now his best score in the IPL.
Miller slammed his second 50-plus score in IPL 2022 (68*). He hammered five sixes and 3 fours. He has surpassed 400 runs in IPL 2022 (449) and is averaging over 64.14. Miller has 12 half-centuries now in IPL. He has surpassed 2,400 runs in the cash-rich league (2,423). He shared a 106-run stand alongside Pandya, who piled up a 27-ball 40*.
As per Cricbuzz, this is now the 3rd-highest chase in an IPL knockouts/playoffs. 200 KKR vs PBKS Bengaluru 2014, 191 KKR vs CSK Chennai 2012, 189 GT vs RR Kolkata 2022*. This is the 7th time the Pandya-led side chased down a score in the final over. 7 by GT in 2022*, 5 by CSK in 2018, and 5 by RR in 2019.
Miller scored 10 runs versus RR from first 14 balls. However, in the last 24 balls, Miller managed 58 runs. He smashed 3 sixes to finish off the game. Second time in IPL 2022 RR spinners failed to pick a wicket. 0/64 in 8 overs vs KKR Wankhede and 0/72 in 8 overs vs GT Kolkata*.
In 15 games this season, Shami (1/43) has 19 scalps this season at 23.94. Shami has raced to 98 IPL scalps at 29.15, steering clear of Dale Steyn (97). Rashid Khan (0/15) was instrumental for GT, conceding at an economy rate of 3.80.
