A captain is the one who takes his team’s hardships and shows them light in the darkest route. Gujarat Titans’ skipper Hardik Pandya has just done that tonight, whose all-rounding efforts led GT to their 4th win of IPL 2022.
With tonight’s win, GT shoots up to the top of the table, while Rajasthan Royals slipped to 3rd position with half of their net run rate slashed by a 37-run loss. Here’s how it went;
GT Beat Gujarat by 37 Runs
Winning the toss and opting to bowl, Rajasthan Royals picked out the out-of-form batsmen Matthew Wade early, and soon Vijay Shankar within powerplay. But, GT’s middle order has been exceptional since the beginning of this season. Especially the skipper Hardik Pandya and Abhinav Manohar, who made a 50-run partnership last, has also contributed 86 runs in this match.
Match-winning innings โ๏ธ
Direct-hit run-out โ๏ธ
Caught and Bowled Wicket โ๏ธ #PapaPandya, aaje lottery ticket khareedi lo! ๐#RRvGT | #AavaDe | #TATAIPL | #SeasonOfFirsts pic.twitter.com/reABpZy6xa— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) April 14, 2022
After brilliant bowling caught Abhinav Manohar, skipper Hardik Pandya added yet another 50 runs along with David Miller, who came into form just in time. Their smashing batting took GT’s total to 192 runs in the designated overs.
With a huge target of 193, RR, unfortunately, lost its opener Devdutt Padikkal as a golden duck, and soon Ravichandran Ashwin through an excellent catch taken by Miller. But, Jos Buttler on the other side is smashing GT bowlers left and right, while the wickets of RR’s middle order are falling down.
149/8, 18 overs. pic.twitter.com/chT7dhampp
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 14, 2022
But, Shimron Hetmyer at the end gave a slight hope with his smashing innings, who eventually got caught in the experienced Mohammad Shami’s bowling. Though RR had a better batting lineup until 8 wickets, they all started to surrender to GT’s cautious bowling and exceptional fielding.