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It did not turn out to be a fairytale season for Rajasthan Royals (RR) as Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans (GT) created history by winning their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title in debut season. Titans became the first franchise to be introduced after the inaugural season to win the IPL trophy. GT chased down the target of 131 with 11 balls to spare with crucial knocks from Shubman Gill, Hardik and David Miller.
Titans struggle in powerplay overs
Titans' chase did not get off to an ideal start as they lost Wriddhiman Saha early. Prasidh Krishna got through his defense in his first over. Matthew Wade could not show up for the big game and got out to Trent Boult in the fifth over. Titans were struggling for 23/2 in the fifth over.
The crucial partnership
Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya took their time and stabilised the innings. Just when Titans were looking like they will cruise towards the victory, Yuzvendra Chahal got the wicket of skipper Hardik. Chahal also won the purple cap race with the wicket of Hardik in the 14th over. He scored 34 runs from 30 deliveries and got caught in the slips. His crucial knock included three fours and one six. The two shared a 63-run partnership for the second wicket.
Miller makes it look easy
After Hardik's wicket, Miller came to the crease and picked off where he left in the qualifier. Miller made the equation easy for Titans with a few boundaries. Despite Boult and Chahal's economical spell, Titans chased down the total with 11 balls to spare. Gill finished off the run chase with a six off Obed McCoy in the penultimate over. The opener remained unbeaten for 45 off 43 deliveries including three fours and one six. On the other end, Miller scored 32 runs from 19 deliveries including three fours and one six.
Jaiswal’s cameo
Royals' innings got off to a quiet start as Mohammed Shami conceded just three singles in the first over. Yashasvi Jaiswal broke free and hit one four and two sixes. Jaiswal's 22-run cameo was ended by Yash Dayal in the fourth over.
Samson fails again
Skipper Samson walked out to bat with the intention of taking on the attack as well. However, the old problem persisted with the Samson and he got out after playing few shots. Hardik introduced himself into the attack and got rid of the opposition skipper.
Hardik gets big wicket
Meanwhile, Buttler took the role of anchoring the innings. Devdutt Padikkal struggled to rotate the strike and got out to Rashid Khan after scoring just two runs from 10 deliveries. With wickets falling at the other end, Buttler could not continue either and became Hardik's second victim. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 39 runs from 35 deliveries including five fours.
No fireworks in slog overs
Shimron Hetmyer could not shine in the big game either and lost his wicket to Hardik in the 15th over. With pressure mounting Ashwin decided to take on left-arm spinner Sai Kishore and paid the price. Ashwin got out after scoring just six runs. In the slog overs, Riyan Parag and Boult contributed with 15 and 11 runs respectively. Royals posted a below par total of 130/9 after opting to bat first.
