IPL 2022 | Hardik, Miller star as Titans thump RR to seal berth in finale

Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the first Qualifier to enter the Final in their maiden IPL season. The duo of Hardik Pandya and David Miller completed the 189 run chase, taking their team home with three balls to spare. 

Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to bowl first at the Eden Gardens. Having been asked to bat first, the Royals put a 188 runs total on the board, with Jos Buttler topping the chart with a 56-ball 89. 

The orange cap holder, Jos Buttler, got off to a good start, smashing Mohammed Shami for three boundaries, before Sanju Samson came all guns blazing, following the early wicket of in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal. The Royals were 55 for 1, with Samson scoring 30 in just 13 balls after the end of the powerplay. 

The Titans took control of the game by introducing spin into the attack. But, considering Rashid's record against Buttler, the wicket-keeper batter could not get going against the leg-spinner on a sticky Eden's wicket. 

All this while, the pressure created by Rashid paved the way for Sai Kishore to remove Sanju Samson before he could do any further damage. Following his skipper's wicket, the Englishman could not open his hands much and kept knocking around until the 17th over, where he smashed Yash Dayal for four boundaries, completing his 50 in 42 balls. 

That over was followed by a 14-run over from Alzarri Joseph, and the Royals finished well, scoring 64 in the last five. Buttler scored 52 of that alone before getting run-out, and RR finished with a total of 188 in 20 overs. 

In reply to Rajasthan's total, GT lost in-form Wriddhiman Saha early as Trent Boult delivered his team with another first-over-wicket. It was his 15th in the tournament history, with only Bhuvneshwar Kumar ahead of him. 

Following Saha's wicket, the Shubman Gill and Matthew Wade pair did the rebuilding job, smashing Ravichandran Ashwin and Boult all around the park. Despite losing Saha in the first over, the Titans finished the powerplay with a brilliant 64 for 1, their highest powerplay score of the season.

Although Gujarat lost both Gill and Wade within two overs, they were 97 for 3 at the halfway mark as captain Hardik continued the momentum, smashing 15 off the first six balls he faced. 

Hardik was then joined by David Miller, who is having his best season since 2014, having scored more than 400 for Gujarat Titans this year. 

The left-hander started slowly as Hardik took on the aggressor's role and made sure the Titans didn't lose their momentum. Miller scored 10 runs in the first 14 balls before gearing up and scoring 58 in the next 24 balls and remained unbeaten at 68 off 38. 

In the end, the Protea did a three-quarter Carlos Brathwaite as he smashed Prasidh Krishna for three sixes in a row, needing 16 off the last over to finish the game at the Eden Gardens, booking his team a place in the Final, in their maiden IPL season.

Brief Score:

Rajasthan Royals - 188/6 (20)

Jos Buttler 89 (56), Sanju Samson 47 (26);

Hardik Pandya 1/14 (2)

Gujarat Titans - 191/3 (19.3)

David Miller 68* (38), Hardik Pandya 40* (27);

Trent Boult 1/38 (4)

Gujarat Titans won by seven wickets.