RR vs GT, IPL 2023: Rashid Khan, Noor drive Gujarat Titans in a perfect game

48th Match, IPL: Gujarat Titans 119 for 1 (Saha 41*, Hardik 39*, Chahal 1-22) beat Rajasthan Royals 118 (Samson 30, Rashid Khan 3-14, Noor 2-25) by nine wickets

Clinical. That’s how Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals played in Jaipur on Friday night. They chased the target down in just 13.5 overs with nine wickets remaining after bowling Royals out for just 118.

The Titans increased their lead at the top of the points table with the victory, putting them one step closer to the playoffs. Royals, in the meantime, have now lost four of their last five games, and are as yet trapped in the ten-point group in the center.

However, after winning the toss, the Royals got off to a good start. In six overs, they were 50 for 2, but Yashasvi Jaiswal’s runout sparked a collapse from which they could never recover. The innings lasted just 17.5 overs, and Rashid Khan took three wickets and Noor Ahmad took two.

Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill responded by adding 71 runs in 9.4 overs, making the target appear even smaller. After that, Hardik Pandya struck at 260 with an unbeaten 39 off 15 balls to give everyone an early win.

The powerplay battle

The Titans had the best powerplay economy rate in IPL 2023 going into this game. During that time, the Royals had the highest scoring rate. And Jaipur was able to see some of both. In the first over, Mohammed Shami moved the new ball, and despite using their feet to counter the movement, Jaiswal and Jos Buttler only scored one run.

After hitting Buttler with two consecutive fours from the opposing side, Hardik caught Buttler at short third. However, the Royals continued with their attacking strategy. In the third over, Jaiswal hit Shami for six and four, and in the fourth, Samson hit Hardik for six and four.

Before a misunderstanding between Jaiswal and Samson resulted in the former being run out, the Royals appeared to be winning the powerplay battle. Manohar dived to his left to make a partial stop after Samson cut Rashid in half toward a backward point. When Jaiswal noticed that Samson had barely moved, he was more than three-quarters down. Unfortunately for him, Mohit Sharma’s throw to Rashid found Jaiswal well short when Manohar deflected toward him at short third.

The Afghan magic

R Ashwin took the No. 5 to attempt to stop the collapse. In any case, he endured just six balls as Rashid pinged his off stump with a leg break, driving Royals to get Riyan Parag as their Impact Player. As a result, the Royals only had five specialist bowlers available for the second innings; Kuldip Yadav, a left-arm seamstress, might have been brought in as the initial strategy. The move didn’t work. He was held lbw by Rashid’s googly for four.

Rashid Khan was taken off after his third over

The Royals, on the other hand, were not spared. With his third ball, Noor struck, uprooting Devdutt Padikkal’s off stump for a 12-run run-a-ball. He had Dhruv Jurel lbw in his next over. Rashid came back from the opposite end to send Shimron Hetmyer back, leaving Royals 96 for 8. The last two wickets took Royals to 118, which was never going to be sufficient.

Saha off to a flier

When a team is all out, it’s not often that the opposition’s wicketkeeper doesn’t get run out. Still, when Noor sprayed one way down the leg side, Saha showed his class behind the stumps by making an excellent one-handed save.

However, Saha was not finished. He hit five fours in the first 13 balls he faced, taking Gill’s time in the chase. Four of them fell off Trent Boult, the Royals’ powerplay weapon.

Hardik in a hurry

Hardik had “full ownership” of the Titans’ defeat to Delhi Capitals because he couldn’t find his rhythm despite scoring an unbeaten half-century. He revised that here.

Hardik immediately took the field after Yuzvendra Chahal had Gill stumped for 36 off 35 balls, breaking the first stand. Before smashing Adam Zampa for 6, 4, 6, 6 off successive deliveries, he had only faced two balls. Hardik’s assault allowed Titans to cross the line with 37 balls remaining, despite Saha’s slowdown following the powerplay.