In a repeat of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 final clash, defending Gujarat Titans (GT) locked horns with former champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Ahmedabad (April 16) on Sunday (April 16).
Sanju Samson put Hardik Pandya's brigade to bat first after winning the flip of the coin. The dazzling duo of Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha opened GT's innings with the latter on strike. Meanwhile Trent Boult, who replaced Jason Holder in RR's playing XI, came out with the first over which saw a bizarre incident in the very third ball of the match. After hitting Boult for a boundary, Saha chipped the ball in the air off the New Zealand star speedster's swinging-length delivery.
Soon after, RR skipper and wicketkeeper Samson made a call to grab the catch as he had the luxury of wearing big gloves. However, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel didn't listen to Samson and went ahead to take the catch. What happened next can be registered as one of the most weirdest moments of IPL as the ball popped out of Samson’s gloves, and all the three players collided in the middle of the pitch which could have been a nasty one.
The ball balloon into the air once again off Samson's gloves but Boult, who was seemingly alert and was standing few steps from the fielders used his reflex and pouched the catch to see Saha walking towards the pavilion after scoring 4 off 3.
Watch the viral video here…
Follow the GT vs RR's live scores here
Earlier, Pandya made a change to GT's playing XI as he dropped Vijay Shankar which saw Abhinav coming into the fold.
"It has been a belter so far. It's a good toss to lose, don't mind bating or bowling first. For us, it's important how we use it (impact player). We'll use it only when required. Forced change, Vijay Shankar isn't playing. Abhinav comes in for him. It's my home state, lot of love, everyone comes here and supports us, exciting," GT skipper Hardik Pandya said after the toss.
“We are looking to bowl. Boult is coming in place of Jason Holder. Padikkal is playing if he gets to bat, I am not sure. We'll keep learning about it (impact sub). I'd like to score some runs today,” RR captain Sanju Samson said after winning the toss.
The current head-to-head record between GT and RR is 3-0. Both teams have faced off against one another three times so far, with Gujarat winning all three matches, including the IPL 2022 grand finale.
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya(c), Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma.
Subs: Joshua Little, Jayant Yadav, Noor Ahmad, Srikar Bharat, Dasun Shanaka
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Subs: Devdutt Padikkal, Murugan Ashwin, Donavon Ferreira, Navdeep Saini, Joe Root.
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