Rajasthan Royals posted a par score of 188 runs against Gujarat Titans in the first Qualifier at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Tuesday after they were put in to bat by Hardik Pandya. RR got off to a poor start as they lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early in the innings but Sanju Samson was able to hit the ground running.
Samson scored 47 runs off just 26 balls to give the impetus to RR’s innings but Jos Buttler failed to find his timing. Devdutt Padikkal scored a handy knock of 28 runs off 20 balls while Buttler soon found his mojo in the last few overs.
The England batter also had the rub of the green on his side as Hardik Pandya slipped at long-off while Rashid Khan also dropped a catch. Buttler went on to score 89 runs from 56 balls and RR was able to get 60 runs in the last four overs to finish on 188.
On the other hand, Gujarat Titans also got off to a bad start as Wriddhiman Saha was dismissed on the second ball of the innings by Trent Boult. However, Shubman Gill and Matthew Wade were able to get quick runs in the PowerPlay overs to keep their team ahead of the asking rate.
Both Wade and Gill went on to score 35 runs each whereas Hardik Pandya was able to hit the ground running. David Miller took his time as he was 10 off 14 balls at one stage but quickly changed gears. 16 runs were needed off the final over and Miller smashed Prasidh Krishna for a hat-trick of sixes. Miller scored a fine knock of 68 runs off just 38 balls to get his over the line by seven wickets and into the IPL finals.
RR could not execute their plans in the bowling innings and they bowled a total of 13 extras, which led to their downfall. All RR bowlers were on the expensive side, except for Yuzvendra Chahal, who conceded 32 runs in his quota of four overs.
Sanju Samson said in the post-match presentation, “Felt good to put up that kind of total as I felt the wicket was a bit sticky and there was a 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 the 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 the 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.”
He added, “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, a couple of overs here and there, a couple of extra runs, a couple of off-rhythm by a 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.”
RR will face the winner of the RCB and LSG game in the second qualifier.
