'Remember the Titans' Gujarat Titans wins the TATA IPL 2022; defeats Rajasthan Royals in the finale

A team of young stars, Gujarat Titans’ dream debut sees a fairytale culmination as the team lifted its maiden IPL trophy. An all-round show by Gujarat Titans against the Rajasthan Royals, it was a clinical performance with the ball first and then with the bat. Leading from the front, skipper Hardik Pandya showed the true meaning of being an all-rounder.

In the beginning, many may have considered Gujarat Titans thin on paper, however, the team played brilliantly throughout the tournament. They found their formula to win games as early as possible. A different match-winner for every match, be it Shubhman Gill in the beginning, or Rashid Khan replacing Hardik Pandya as a captain for a game. The team showed a fine combination of coordination, effort and professionalism.

Talking about the final showdown, Hardik led side defeated the Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets. Leading from the front, Pandya took three wickets for 17 runs and scored 34 off 30 balls. With Shubhman Gill hitting the glory runs for Gujarat, it was the modest Hardik Pandya and aggressive Miller who took the charge in the middle.

Chasing a simple yet hard to achieve target of 131, Gujarat Titans had a weak start. As the opponent pacer, Prasidh Krishna dismissed GT wicket-keeper batter, Wriddhiman Saha in the 2nd over and restricted the Gujarat batters to a score of just 54/2 in 10 overs. The game had now found its charisma, as Gujarat Titans struggled to get the runs on board.

Modesty and patience never give you a setback, a fine example of this was the stance of skipper Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill, who took the innings in their own hands. Both played slowed and kept calm, saving the opportunities and playing with the patience of the Rajasthan Royal’s bowlers. The two brought up a 63-run partnership to keep the chase on. After Hardik was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal in the 14th over for 34 runs, David Miller joined the crease with Shubhman Gill. Where, Gill played a pretty decent knock of 45 runs off 43 deliveries, Miller on the other hand, with the help of 3 fours and 1 six, smashed 32 runs off just 19 deliveries.

It seemed like, Gujarat Titans were saving their best bowling performance for the IPL 2022 Final. Where they restricted the one time champion, Rajasthan Royals to 130/9.

It was the second-lowest total in the history of IPL finals after Rising Pune Supergiants scored 129/8 in 2017 final. With Pandya taking three wickets and R Sai Kishore bagging two wickets for 20 runs, Rajasthan’s top performers Jos Butler, Yashashvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson were all set for a breakdown.

The season came to its end with Jos Butler receiving the Player of the Series award, Hardik Pandya receiving the Player of the Match award and Gujarat Titans lifting the TATA IPL 2022 trophy.