Sanju Samson and Hardik Pandya pose ahead of the Rajasthan-Gujarat game.
RR vs GT Highlights, IPL 2022: GT win by 37 runs; Hardik shines in all 3 departments
Alright, the formalities are done. The Titans win the match by 37 runs. Led by their skipper, Gujarat has been top-notch in every department today. Rajasthan, not so much. A clinical victory for Hardik's men. Gujarat moves to the top of the points table.
OUT! Chahal is out. Caught by Shankar. RR is on the verge of being bowled out.
RR need 40 runs in 6 balls. Yash Dayal is here to complete the formalities.
Pandya seems to be hurt here. He is walking off. Hope it isn't anything serious. Shankar to complete the 18th over.
OUT! Jimmy Neesham is out. Pandya the bowler, Pandya the catcher. Nothing Hardik can't do tonight. Rajasthan is 147/8 now.
OUT! Not much, after all. A high full toss from Ferguson and Riyan doesn't hit it well enough. Gill runs in and takes the catch. RR now 138/7 after 16 overs.
Alright, RR requires 63 runs in the last 5 overs. Let's see what this pair of Parag and Neesham can do.
GT 117/6 after 13 overs: Told you! Hetmyer went after him with all he's got. 2 boundaries from the over. Another one goes up in the air, but it has got no distance. Tewatia takes the catch. Hetmyer is back in the hut. 15 runs from the over. Jimmy Neesham is the next batter.
Big over coming up. Shami is back into the attack for the 13th over. Something is bound to happen.
OUT! Van der Dussen is out. Edged and gone. Gujarat is all over Rajasthan at the moment. Great comeback by Yash Dayal after being hammered by Buttler. Van der Dussen was looking to drive, the ball took the outside edge, and Wade takes the catch.
GT 87/4 after 10 overs: Hardik Pandya comes into the attack now. A quiet over for Rajasthan. Gujarat slowly taking hold of the game.
OUT! Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya runs out Sanju Samson
There is nothing that Hardik can do wrong tonight as he runs out Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson for 11. Samson was running alone after playing a drive towards mid-off. Pandya rush in and hits the stumps at the bowler's end.
RR 65/3 after 6 overs Lokie Ferguson changed the game on its head. Two wickets in the same over. First David Miller takes a superb catch to remove R Ashwin. Then the big fish, Jos Buttler departs as Lokie executes a perfect yorker. GT are back into the game. Captain Sanju Samson and Vd Dussen needs to play deep to get RR close to the target.
RR 49/1 after 4 overs: Alright, Gujarat fans, look away. Buttler is just taking apart Gujarat's bowling attack. Three boundaries and six from the over. Dayal has no idea where to pitch the ball. Pandya needs to think of something really fast. Buttler is enjoying the pace here. Maybe he would like to bring Rashid in.
Surprise, Surprise! R Ashwin has come to bat at number 3. To be honest, it can go either way.
RR 28/1 after 2 overs: Yash Dayal comes into the attack, and Buttler greets him with a boundary. Poor ball to start the over. The ball was going down leg, and Buttler helped it with a slight flick. Another boundary followed by six over fine leg. Buttler is threatening to take the game away pretty soon. Right when everything was going according to the plan for the Royals, Devdutt Padikkal plays a poor cut shot, the ball takes the edge, and Shubhman Gill does the rest. First wicket for the Yash Dayal. Rajasthan is one down. Blockbuster over.
RR 13/0 after 1st over: Buttler is on fire here. Three boundaries in a row. The English keeper has his orange cap back. Powerful start for the Royals. Gujarat needs to be very cautious here.
Drama first ball. Gujarat feels Buttler has edged the ball going down leg and take a review. Ultra-edge confirms no bat involved, and all is well for Rajasthan.
Alright. Shami to start the proceedings for Gujarat. Jos Buttler is on strike, and here we go...
Abhinav Manohar
The wicket's pretty good, the ball is coming onto the bat. Once the ball gets old, it's a little easier to hit. We should try to get them out upfront. Hardik said, 'Take the game till the 12th over, don't hit too many high-risk shots and just take the game, then we'll assess the situation later and play accordingly,' that's what I did. It was challenging and the ball was doing a little bit. The wicket is slightly slowing down for the spinners. I am trying to play in all situations, bat up the order also. I am trying to do the best for the team, so glad it paid off today.
193 to win for Rajasthan Royals.
Gujarat finishes with 192/4 after 20 overs. A valiant effort from Pandya and brilliant cameos from Abhinav Manohar and David Miller.
Unbelievable hit by Pandya. Just a slice of the bat, and it has gone all the way for a six. A boundary to end the over from Pandya, and he is the orange cap holder as of this moment. What a player!
GT 179/4 after 19 overs: Miller is on the charge here. A boundary followed by a six. Malinga in the RR dug-out isn't impressed by Sen's hit-me-in-the-slot bowling. Two more boundaries to end the over. Massive over for Gujarat. 21 runs from the over. Could well be the game-changer.
OUT! Cricket is a great leveller. Last ball, Manohar slog-swept Chahal for a massive six, the next ball, he is out caught trying to play in a similar manner. GT Is 139/4 after 16 overs.
GT 130/3 after 15 overs: Hardik takes Ashwin to the cleaners. Two big sixes, and the skipper is leading from the front. Rajasthan is in trouble here.
GT 114/3 after 14 overs: Fifty for Pandya. The captain is looking in good touch. Rajasthan needs to be careful here. Hardik can run away with the game. Abhinav Manohar cuts the last ball towards backward square leg for a boundary. Gujarat is on the attack now.
GT 101/3 after 13 overs: Abhinav Manohar is looking good. A couple of big hits to Chahal would have surely increased his confidence. Gujarat Titans will look to attack now with Miller and Tewatia still to come.
GT 78/3 after 11 overs: Interesting over that from Ashwin. Seemed like Manohar wasn't able to read him for the first three balls. Then he finally pulls one to backward square leg for four.
GT 72/3 after 10 overs: Samson has now unleashed the duo of Ashwin and Chahal. Both of them are bowling tight lines. Interesting phase of the game lies ahead. Who will break first?
Abhinav Manohar is the new batter. Good opportunity for the youngster to showcase his abilities.
OUT! Now Gill goes back in the hut. In a bid to up the ante, he has lofted the ball straight to Hetmyer near the ropes. Gujarat in serious trouble. Gujrat is 54/3 after 7 overs.
GT 34/2 after 5 overs: Hardik Pandya is taking the attack to Rajasthan Royals. Three boundaries in a row. Poor bowling from Kuldeep sen.
OUT ! Another one bites the dust. Vijay Shankar's horror season continues. No foot movement from Shankar as he threw his hands at this short and wide delivery from Kuldeep Sen. Bottom edge and it carries to Samson who takes a good catch. Hardik Pandya is in within 3 overs. Rajasthan on top! Gujarat is 16/2 after 3 overs.
OUT! Agony for Matthew Wade. He is run out. Good fielding effort from van der Dussen. He was looking good but has to walk back now.
Gujarat Titans 12/0 after first over - Expensive over from Neesham. Matthew wade hits three boundaries. Not the start Rajasthan was looking for.
Jimmy Neesham to open the attack for Rajasthan. Matthew Wade on strike. Gill at the non-strikers end.
24-years-old Yash Dayal is making his debut for the Titans today. He is a left-arm medium fast bowler. Here are his domestic T20 numbers:
Matches: 15
Wickets: 15
Economy: 7.21
Average: 22.1
Toss Report
Rajasthan Royals won the toss and have decided to bowl.
Sanju Samson
We'd like to bowl first here. We did a very good job to win the game with dew condition and losing the toss but I'd like to use the conditions. Yesterday, Trent Boult had a small niggle and isn't available for today's game. Jimmy Neesham is replacing him.
Hardik Pandya
We would have liked to bowl first as well but I wouldn't mind batting first as well. It's always good to get responsibility, I have always been a player who has enjoyed taking responsibilities, taking things on my shoulder. It helps me to get better as a cricketer and as a person as well. The boys are pretty chilled out, the supporting staff is nice. Right now, we are going in the honeymoon phase and I'd like to contribute. I know I always have two departments to contribute. Even if I am having a bad day with my bat, I can still contribute with the ball and vice versa. We were 5-10 short, but we could have been a little more disciplined with our bowling. I will not be too strict on the bowlers, they are trying their best and we are there to enjoy the sport. Two changes, Yash Dayal comes in for Darshan Nalkande and Vijay Shankar comes in for Sai Sudharshan
Gujarat Titans Playing 11
(Playing XI): Matthew Wade(w), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya(c), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Yash Dayal
Changes: Yash Dayal is making his debut for the Titans. He replaces Darshan Nalkande. Vijay Shankar comes back in for Sai Sudharshan.
Rajasthan Royals Playing 11
Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Rassie van der Dussen, Shimron Hetmyer, James Neesham, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal
Changes: Trent Boult sits this one out owing to a niggle, Jimmy Neesham replaces him
Pitch Report By Matthew Hayden
"This isn't a new wicket, it's been used once before. It is smack bang in the middle of this beautiful stadium. One side's 73m, the other is 70m - the dimensions are very similar. It's not a huge ground as well. The pitch is an absolute beauty. It's got a fairly strong bit of grass in and around the hard lengths that the bowlers love to bowl on. It's very hard, it's got a little sheen to it and don't expect to be any different other than a lot of runs that are piled on tonight. 120 sixes have been scored at this ground in just eight games, that's extraordinary. 46% of the sixes have been downtown. This wicket is very good, it's got true, even pace. The quicks and the spinners got to be around those stumps, otherwise they are going to go the journey. Expect a lot of runs tonight, I think this is going to be a cracking game."
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