Gujarat Titans are the new leaders of the points table with a clinical 37-run win over Rajasthan Royals at DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai. Captain Hardik Pandya was the start of the match with his all-round performance in all three departments. Batting first, he scored an unbeaten 87 runs off 52 balls, then in the field, he ran out opposition captain Sanju Samson early, and in the end, he claimed the crucial wicket of James Neesham.
Rajasthan Royals missed the services of their leading pacer Trent Boult who was ruled out due to a niggle that he suffered a night before the clash. They leaked too many runs in the final overs as Hardik, and David Miller blasted 53 off 25 balls to end the innings in style.
While Lockie Ferguson was the pick of the bowlers for Gujarat with three crucial wickets, debutant Yash Dayal also claimed the same amount of wickets but was a bit expensive.
Rajasthan Royals, who were at the top of the points table before Thursday’s clash, have now dropped to the third spot, with Gujarat Titans replacing them at the top. They are the only team to win four matches in the tournament so far. At the same time, Kolkata Knight Riders are at the second spot with 6 points and a superior run rate than other teams. Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore shared 6-point each and are at the fourth, fifth and sixth spot based on NRR.
The last four spots are acquired by Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, respectively. MI are the only team to have not opened their account on the points table.
Chasing a target of 193 runs, Jos Buttler scored a smashing half-century, but Rajasthan Royals lost their wickets, courtesy of Gujarat’s bowling. While Devdutt Padikkal perished on duck, Ravichandran Ashwin (8) and RR captain Sanju Samson also fell early. Jos Buttler hit a half-century and managed to score 54 off 24 balls, and eventually, Rajasthans managed to score 155 in 20 overs.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson attributed the defeat to the loss of wickets despite having a better run rate in the powerplay. He opined that this match would have been chasable for them if they had more wickets in their hands.
Samson further added that Rajasthan must learn and come back stronger in the next game.
“Very important to learn and comeback stronger in the next game. I was doing No. 3 continuously till last season. So we decided to have that flexibility, come down at No. 4 or 5 or wherever the team needs me. Having someone like R Ashwin allows us to do that, Devdutt Padikkal batted 3 in the first three games. So it all depends on the combination we are playing,” Samson said in the post-match presentation.
