Gujarat Titans (GT) registered a thumping nine-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 48 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday (May 5).
Opting to bat first, the hosts got bowled out for a below-par 118 in 17.5 overs. It was a listless batting display from the Royals as only one batter went past 15 runs.
Afghan spin duo of Rashid Khan (3-14) and Noor Ahmad (2-25) were the wrecker-in-chief with the ball, sharing five wickets between them. Other GT bowlers like Mohammad Shami (1-27), Joshua Little (1-24) and Hardik Pandya (1-22) also returned with one scalp each.
In reply, the defending champions overhauled the target in just 13.5 overs. It didn’t seem like that the two teams batted on the same surface.
The Titans got off to a brilliant start as the duo of Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill added 71 runs for the opening wicket. While Gill got out after scoring 36, Saha (41* off 34) held the one end firmly and scored the remaining runs alongside skipper Hardik Pandya (39* off 15) to take GT over the finishing line.
For their clinical display with both ball and bat, Hardik Pandya and his men received rich praise from the cricket fraternity on Twitter.
Here are the reactions:
