Hardik Pandya was the star of the final
This is what dreams are made of!
Hardik Pandya's Gujarat Titans scripted history as they defeated Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets to win their maiden IPL trophy in their maiden appearance at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad
Led by Hardik Pandya, who starred with the ball, stitched a crucial partnership with Gill, and displayed tremendous leadership, Gujarat Titans proved to be too good to handle for Rajasthan Royals.
Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to bat first. Hardik Pandya, however, said that they were anyways looking to bowl first. It is worth noting that GT had been one of the best teams to chase this tournament. RR, on the other hand, were great at setting targets. Both teams got what they wanted from the toss.
Batting first, the Royals couldn't really get going as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Hardik Pandya was the star with the ball as he sent the big fish Buttler, skipper Sanju, and hard-hitting Hetmyer packing.
Rashid Khan too was great with the ball in hand. The spin-master bowled 4 overs and gave away just 18 runs at a magnificent economy of 4.20. The passage of play where Hardik and Rashid bowled in tandem sucked the life out of RR's innings.
At the 15th over mark, when both Pandya and Rashid were done with their quota of overs, Hardik brought in another spinner - Sai Kishore, who has been really difficult to get away this season for most batters.
Jos Buttler top-scored for RR with 39 off 35 deliveries, and RR eventually finished with a below-par total of 130.
Chasing 131, GT hardly broke a sweat. Although they lost Saha and Wade early. Pandya, along with Gill managed to stitch together a match-winning partnership.
Chahal dismissed Hardik around the 14th over, but it came pretty late. Once David Miller came in, it was all pretty easy for the Titans as they chased down 130 with 11 balls to spare.
What a season it has been for Gujarat Titans. From being written off at the end of the mega-auction to going all the way to win the trophy, it was a magnificent season for Hardik's boys.
