Captain Hardik Pandya (40 not out) and David Miller (68 not out)’s unbeaten 106-run partnership led Gujarat Titans to an impressive and clinical seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in Tuesday’s Qualifier I at a packed Eden Gardens.
The victory earned the IPL newcomers a final berth in the Titans’ home at Ahmedabad. Royals will have another chance as they await the result of Wednesday’s Eliminator between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Courtesy Hardik and Miller, the Titans overhauled Royals’ formidable 188 for 6 with three balls to spare.
The Titans had planned a strategy for the run chase, not letting senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin settle down and not being too adventurous against Yuzvendra Chahal either.
After Obed McCoy bowled impressively in the penultimate over, conceding only seven runs, the Titans were under a bit of pressure as they needed 16 off the deciding over. Prasidh Krishna, who had done a decent job until then, was entrusted with the job. But Miller, with his clean hitting, took just three balls to seal the deal for the Titans, smashing the young pacer for three massive sixes to earn his team a final berth.
Miller’s knock overshadowed that of Jos Buttler (89 off 56 balls), who was instrumental in the Royals crossing the 180 mark.
Miller’s three sixes in a row also brought back memories of Carlos Brathwaite’s assault over Ben Stokes in the 2016 World T20 final at the Eden. Brathwaite had smashed Stokes for four sixes on the trot when the West Indies required 19 off the final over for victory.
The Titans had lost ‘visitor’ Wriddhiman Saha on just the second ball of their run chase off Trent Boult’s bowling. But opener Shubman Gill (35) and No.3 Matthew Wade (35) laid the platform with their brisk 72-run stand.
Earlier, a late onslaught from Buttler, albeit aided by a fair bit of luck and some poor fielding by the Titans, powered the Royals to 188, a total which didn’t really look possible at one stage after the Royals were put in to bat. Off the first 38 balls he had faced, Buttler had scored only 39. Sixteen overs of Royals’ innings were over by then and they had reached only 127 for 3.
But class and quality cannot be denied for long. Buttler, possessing both, proved so on a pitch that appeared two-paced. His next 50 came off just 18 balls, and the Royals would have thought 188 was a good total to defend.
Just one 50-plus score in his last seven innings was the talking point going into the contest. Buttler’s recent struggles seemed to have had an effect on his strokemaking as he had managed only 30 off his first 31 balls. That, in spite of hitting Mohammed Shami for a couple of beautiful off drives that raced to the boundary in the first over of the game.
Rashid’s accuracy
On a ground where batsmen can be difficult to contain, leg-spinner Rashid Khan didn’t give away a single boundary off his four overs, conceding just 15 runs. Not looking to experiment and neither trying for extra spin, the Afghan master focused purely on bowling the right line and length. And with a bit of fortune, Rashid could well have had the scalps of Buttler as well as Royals captain Sanju Samson (47 off 26 balls), who gave the impetus to his team’s innings.
