Xtra Time Web Desk: An inspired spell of bowling by Hardik Pandya saw Gujarat Titans defeat Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets to lift the IPL 2022 trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday night. It has been a thorough team effort from Gujarat Titans with contributions from each player.
In the final on Sunday, Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to bat first. But that decision was proved wrong by Gujarat Titans bowlers, as Rajasthan kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Hardik Pandya’s spell read 4-0-17-3. The Gujarat Titans skipper took the wickets of Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, and Shimron Hetmyer
Jos Buttler top-scored for Rajasthan with 39 off 35 deliveries, as they were restricted to 130/9.
Chasing 131, Gujarat Titans 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. David Miller (32 off 19) and Shubman Gill (45 off 43) saw the team home with 11 balls to spare.
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 Gujarat Titans led by their inspirational captain.