The Titans cemented their top spot in the standings with the win as they now have 14 points in 10 games, three ahead of second-placed Lucknow Super Giants. The Royals remained fourth with five wins and as many losses in 10 games.
As It Happened: Rajasthan Royals vs Gujarat Titans
The visitors from Gujarat made short work of the 119 run short chase, galloping home in just 13.5 overs with nine wickets in hand.
Openers Wriddhiman Saha (41 steps on 34 balls) and Shubman Gill (36 of 35) made sure there were no setbacks in the chase, adding a solid 71 runs in 9.4 overs. After Gill’s departure, the skipper Hardik Pandya came in as the No. 3 bat and didn’t take the time to get going. Hardik scored an unbeaten 39 on just 15 balls, smoking three sixes and three fours during his short spell.
Saha and Gill quickly left the blocks against pacer RR Trent Boult, hitting the left arm for a few fours apiece inside the power play, at the end of which GT was 49 with no loss.
Yuzvendra Chahal puzzled Gill in the 10th, but the breakthrough had no impact on the Titans juggernaut.
Pandya was tough on RR’s Adam Zampa, hitting the Australian leg spinner for three sixes and a four to collect 24 runs in the 11th and speed the process.
Earlier in the first half, the Royals went against the Titans duo Rashid Khan And Nour Ahmad be grouped together for a mediocre total, as the two Afghan spinners shared five wickets.
The Royals’ decision to strike after winning the coin toss backfired on Rashid, who returned 4-0-14-3 to trigger a collapse, and Noor, who recorded 3-0-25-2.
Rajasthan looked in control until the fifth innings at 47 to one, but the home side crumbled without any resistance to lose nine wickets for just 71 runs and were knocked out in 17.5 overs, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Hardik Pandya had Jos Buttler (8) caught by Mohit Sharma on third-man court after the batter hit two straight fours on second.
The couple of Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal (14) tried to build momentum for RR but their 36-point second-wicket position was shattered in the power-play finale with Abhinav Manohar dove to stop a cut from Samson.
Mohit kicked the ball to Rashid, who broke the stumps with Jaiswal away from the crease.
The Rashid-led bowling attack then took firm control of the proceedings. Little finished Samson’s promising start at 30 from 20 balls (3x4s, 1x6s), getting Captain RR caught inside the ring on an ill-timed hit.
Samson crossed the line to play on the full side but could only gain an advantage, which Pandya picked up as skipper RR stared at the box in disbelief.
Rashid then outplayed counterpart Ravichandran Ashwin (2) for the majority of the round of 16, dismantling his off-stump on the last ball.
Riyan Parag (4) continued to disappoint as he failed to read the Afghan Leggie googly on the 10th and unsuccessfully appealed against the referee’s front leg call.
Halfway through, RR was stuttering at 72 for five years.
Noor stepped in to keep RR under the pump, castling southpaw Devdutt Padikkal (12) in the 12th and trapping the dangerous Dhruv Jurel (9) front leg in his following.
Rashid came back on the 15th to fire Shimron Hetmyer (7) front leg, the Caribbean hitter’s horrible run continuing into this IPL.
With scores of 3, 2, 8, 8 and 7, Hetmyer has now recorded five single-digit scores on the trot.
Rashid almost had his fourth wicket in his final, but a return shot off the bat from Trent Boult was a bit too far for his reach in the sequel.
(With PTI entries)
Show IPL: Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by 9 wickets
