Gujarat Titans strengthened their position at the top of the table by defeating Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets with 37 balls to spare in an Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 match here on Friday after the magic of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed’s spin. While Rashid took three wickets for 14 runs in four overs, Noor took two wickets for 25 runs in three overs. Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya and Josh Little took one wicket each. Chasing the target, Wriddhiman Saha scored an unbeaten 41 off 34 balls while Hardik Pandya scored an unbeaten 39 in 15 balls with the help of three fours and as many sixes.
For the team, opener Shubman Gill contributed 36 runs in 35 balls. After restricting Rajasthan’s innings to 118 runs in 17.5 overs, Gujarat Titans achieved the target for the loss of one wicket in 13.5 overs. This is the team’s seventh win in 10 matches and is on top of the table with 14 points. Rajasthan’s team is in fourth place after fifth defeat in as many matches. Captain Sanju Samson scored the maximum 30 runs in 20 balls with the help of three fours and a six for Rajasthan Royals. Chasing the target, Saha and Gill almost ensured the team’s victory by sharing 71 runs in 59 balls for the first wicket. Both batted carefully in the first four overs and then hit three fours against Trent Boult in the fifth over.
Gill also hit two fours against Sandeep Sharma in the next over. Saha’s one run in the seventh over, both shared a half-century partnership. This is the first half-century partnership of both of them in this season. Yuzvendra Chahal got Gill stumped in the 10th over but captain Pandya, who came to the crease, scored 24 runs in the 11th over against Adam Zampa by hitting three sixes and a four, after which the match was only a formality. Saha and Pandya shared an unbroken 48-run partnership in 25 balls for the second wicket.
Earlier, Jos Buttler (eight runs in six balls), looking for rhythm, hit skipper Pandya for fours in consecutive balls in the second over but was caught by Mohit Sharma on the next ball. Yashasvi Jaiswal (14 runs in 11 balls) hit sixes and fours against Mohammed Shami and Samson against Pandya. In the sixth over, Jaiswal was run out after being a victim of mistake. Rajasthan’s score was 50 for two after the power play. Joshua Little, who came for bowling in the next over, showed the way to the pavilion by dodging Samson on his fast ball after eating two fours.
After the dismissal of the captain, the Rajasthan team came under pressure. Rashid then removed Ravichandran Ashwin (two runs in six balls), Riyan Parag (four runs in six balls) and Shimron Hetmyer (seven runs in 13 balls) to break the back of Rajasthan’s batting. Meanwhile, Noor trapped Dhruv Jurel (nine runs in eight balls) after bowling Devdutt Padikkal (12 runs in 12 balls). The team somehow completed hundred runs in the 15th over. Trent Boult (15 off 11 balls) gave Rajasthan fans a chance to cheer when he hit a six against Noor. However, he was bowled by Shami’s accurate yorker in the 17th over. In the next over, Rajasthan’s innings got reduced due to the run out of Adam Zampa (seven runs in nine balls).
