IPL 2023, Gujarat Titans (GT) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR): David Miller's 46, Sanju Samson's 60, Shimron Hetmyer's 56 are top three performances. Rajasthan beat Gujarat and move to top of the points table.
Brief Scores: Rajasthan Royals 179/7 (Sanju Samson 60, Shimron Hetmyer 56 not out, Mohammed Shami 3/25) beat Gujarat Titans 177/7 (David Miller 46, Shubman Gill 45, Sandeep Sharma 2/25) by 3 wickets.
Player of the match: Shimron Hetmyer (56 off 26)
Rajasthan Royals are coming off a two-match winning streak, with the 3-win run over Chennai Super Kings showing their depth in their bowling attack. The table-toppers are eying a third straight win against defending champions Gujarat Titans at Ahmedabad. Gujarat Titans have also done well so far, with the only loss coming against the KKR where Rinku Singh slammed five sixes in a row to steal the win. They would be continuing the winning momentum with a second straight win.
Rajasthan Royals are proving that it’s not how you start but how you end that matters in a cricket match. This time, their hard-hitting openers failed, but the middle order led by captain Sanju Samson followed by Shimron Hetmyer did the job for the team. Also, Royals’ bowling firepower showed they can limit any opposition, even on a batting-friendly wickets. They restricted the Titans to 177/7 on a batting beauty. Later, RR chased down the target with four balls remaining.
Gujarat Titans stutter to 177/7
Put into bat at their home ground in Ahmedabad, Gujarat Titans lost opener Wriddhiman Saha on the third ball of the first over bowled by Trent Boult. The catch, could have been spilled after three RR players collided in the middle of the pitch before the ball popped out of Sanju Samson’s gloves and taken by Boult. Sai Sudarshan then fell next via run-out for 20. Titans then have their best stand of 59 runs in 5.3 overs before captain Hardik Pandya fell for 28 off Yuzvendra Chahal’s bowling.
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill played the anchor role to perfection, batting sensibly to score 45 off 34 balls before he fell in the 16th over off Sandeep Sharma’s bowling. David Miller and Abhinav Manohar then put a quick stand of 45 runs in 3.4 overs with the latter being the aggressor, hitting three sixes for his 13-ball 27. Miller made 46 off 30 balls to take the team’s score to 177/7.
Read More: IPL 2023, PBKS vs GT: Gujarat Titans clinch thrilling six-wicket victory over Punjab Kings
Samson, Hetmyer take Rajasthan home
Rajasthan had a poor start to their chase, losing Yashasvi Jaiswal caught in slips in the second over bowled by Hardik Pandya. Jos Buttler fell in desperation to score after he played four dot balls. He went to scoop his fifth ball but missed it completely and was bowled for a duck by Mohammed Shami. The Indian pacer bowled a great line and length without giving an inch to score. His first spell of 3 overs cost the team only 9 runs with a maiden and the prize wicket of Buttler.
Devdutt Padikkal, coming in as an impact player replacing Chahal, then put up a stand of 43 runs in 5.4 overs before the left-handed batsman holed out in the deep to Sandeep Sharma off Rashid Khan for 26. With the required run rate climbing to 14, Samson went after Rashid in the 13th over, hitting three straight sixes. Eventually, Samson attempted a few shots too many and mistimed a hit to Miller for 60 off 32 balls with 3 fours and 6 sixes. Samson and Shimron Hetmyer put up a stand of 69 runs in just 4.3 overs.
Hetmyer then finished the job for his team, with the lower-order batters in Dhruv Jurel (18) and R Ashwin (10) pitching with their useful cameos. Hetymer remained not out on 56.
Let’s scan the top three performances from the game between GT and RR in IPL 2023
David Miller’s crucial 46
David Miller came out to bat at 91/3 in 10.3 overs. He stitched a stand of 30 runs with Shubman Gill in 4.5 overs before dismissing for 45. Miller, who was dropped earlier by Adam Zampa, then dropped anchor while Abhinav Manohar went after the bowling to make a cameo of 13-ball 27. Miller was also playing at a decent strike rate and played some shots at the end to up the scoring rate. He was dismissed for 30-ball 46 with 3 fours and 2 sixes.
Overall, it was a mature knock from Miller as he ensured he held one end up but also batted at a good strike rate of over 150. Miller struck a couple of useful boundaries in the last over bowled by Sandeep to take the score past 170. It was Miller’s anchor-cum-attacking batting that saw GT post 177/7.
Sanju Samson’s blistering 60
Captain Sanju Samson came out to bat when team were struggling at 2-4 in 2.5 overs. First, he tried to resurrect the innings in the company of Paddikal, but once the required run rate climbed to 14, Samson unleashed a flurry of big hits against the top leg-spinner in the world, Rashid Khan. He anticipated the length of Rashid early and struck three straight sixes off the leg-spinner in the 13th over. It was complete mayhem as Samson dominated a stand of 69 runs with Samson. He holed out in the deep to Miller. But his game ensured Rajasthan had a real chance to go after the target as Hetymer was at the other end to finish the game even if Samson got out trying to up the scoring. Overall, it was one of the best selfless captain’s knocks in IPL.
Shimron Hetmyer’s match-winning 56 off 26
Rajasthan needed 123 runs in 9.3 overs at over 12 runs per over when Shimron Hetmyer came out to bat. He took his time to settle down as he watched his captain Samson take on the bowlers. Taking a cue from Samson, Hetymer too got into attacking mode and unleashed his big strokes. Even when Samson fell, Hetmyer didn’t allow the momentum to go down and kept the big hits going. He was ably supported by lower-order batsmen such as Dhruv Jurel and R Ashwin who played useful cameos, but it was Hetmyer’s finishing act that did the job for the team. In the last over, he cracked a six to score the winning runs against Noor Ahmad. Hetmyer remained not out on 56 balls off 26 balls with 2 fours and 5 sixes.
Points Table Scenario & What's Next
With this win, Rajasthan maintained their top spot in the points table with 8 points from 5 games. Gujarat Titans are at number 3 with 6 points from 5 games. Rajasthan face Lucknow next on April 19, while Gujarat play next against Lucknow on April 22.
Read More: IPL 2023: Top Youngsters: From Kargil War veteran’s son Dhruv Jurel to 19-year-old Suyash Sharma
IPL 2023 Points Table
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