IPL 2022, RR vs GT | Miller-Hardik show eclipses Buttler’s effort as Titans enter final
The Hindu
The South African adds an unbroken 106 for the fourth wicket as the Gujarat side reaches the 189-run target in style; Englishman’s 56-ball 89 goes in vain for Royals
David Miller and captain Hardik Pandya guided debutant Gujarat Titans to a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals with clinical finishing job in the Qualifier 1 and earned the side a berth in the final of the Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.
Chasing 189, Titans achieved the target with three balls to spare as Miller and Hardik forged an unbeaten 106-run partnership.
Royals will play the winner of the Eliminator in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Facing a stiff target, Titans batted better in the PowerPlay to gather 64 runs. After Wriddhiman Saha’s dismissal in the first over, Matthew Wade and Shubman Gill put on a 72-run stand in 44 deliveries.
The left-right combination placed the ball nicely to put pressure on Royals. It ended unexpectedly when the impressive Gill, who hit Ashwin for three successive fours in his 21-ball 35, was run out in the eighth over.
Two overs later, Wade (35, 30b, 6x4) pulled Obed McCoy to deep mid-wicket.
Hardik (40 n.o., 27b) kept his cool and played the ball on merit to get boundaries both behind and in front of the wicket. He complemented the hard-hitting David Miller (68, 38b, 3x4, 5x6), who clobbered three successive sixes off Prasidh Krishna in the final over.