Gujarat Titans defeated Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets on Tuesday to become the first team to enter the IPL 2022 final which will be played on Sunday. 

After being asked to bat first, Sanju Samson and co. put up a challenging score of 188 for 6. RR lost Yashasvi Jaiswal (3) early. Jos Buttler (89 off 56) then dominated the GT bowlers, top-scoring for the side. The Orange Cap-holder enjoyed a copious amount of luck as he was dropped three times during his innings. Skipper Samson shared a 68-run stand with Buttler, of which 47 came off the former’s blade.

Rashid Khan bowled extremely well and finished with none for 15 in four overs. 

In reply, Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat chased the target with three balls to spare. David Miller scored an unbeaten 68 off 38 balls.

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“Felt good to put up that kind of total as I felt the wicket was a bit sticky and there was lot of swing in the powerplay. I think we managed to put in a good score, but I think they played really well to chase the score down. It was a bit two-paced and bounce was also not even, I just went after the bowling from ball one and I got a bit lucky to get a few runs in the powerplay, but wicket was a bit tough to bat on and we finished off really well. Scoring that kind of a total on this wicket in these conditions, against that bowling attack was a great performance by our batters,” Sanju Samson said.

“We have been doing really well, the five bowlers have been our main bowlers and they have done really well throughout the tournament. Having Riyan also helps, but felt it was a bit better to bat in the second innings as it came on nicely onto the bat. We have been playing some really good cricket throughout the tournament, couple of overs here and there, couple of extra runs, couple of off-rhythm by couple of our bowlers, we will try to come back and play some good cricket. In this format luck (the toss) plays a huge role, so it all comes down to what you want to do in your control. Hoping for a good result in the next game.”

Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals: 188/6 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 47, Jos Buttler 89) vs GT.

Gujarat Titans: 191/3 in 19.3 overs (David Miller 68 not out, Hardik Pandya 40 not out).