Gujarat Titans' captain Shubman Gill (R) and Vijay Shankar run between the wickets during the IPL Twenty20 cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. (Arun SANKAR / AFP)
JAIPUR: Rashid Khan marshaled a thrilling final-over finish as Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by three wickets in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.
Khan smacked three boundaries off Avesh Khan’s last over to help Gujarat score 199-7 (20 overs). Skipper Shubman Gill top scored for the Titans with 72 off 44 balls, with Khan’s 11-ball 24 not out putting the finishing touch to the chase.
Hosts Rajasthan had put on 196-3 in 20 overs, thanks to half-centuries from Riyan Parag (76) and Sanju Samson (68 not out).
Put in to bat, the Royals lost their openers relatively cheaply. Jos Buttler, who had scored a century in his last outing against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, was out caught off Rashid Khan for eight.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s poor run with the bat continued — he was out four 24 off 19 balls.
Rajasthan was down to 42-2 in 5.4 overs when Samson and Parag came together for their third-wicket stand and batted until the 19th over.
The in-form duo put on a 130-run partnership off 78 balls for the third wicket.
They benefited from some shoddy Gujarat fielding — Parag was dropped twice before the halfway mark, while Samson, too, survived two chances.
It allowed the duo to dictate terms as both hit attacking half-centuries to resurrect the Royals’ innings.
Parag was more aggressive — he hit four sixes and two fours, reaching 50 off 34 balls. He faced 48 balls in all, hitting five sixes.
It was Parag’s third half-century in five outings this season. Samson scored 50 off 31 balls, and hit seven fours and two sixes overall.
Parag was dismissed in the penultimate over, with Samson and Shimron Hetmyer (13 not out) adding 24 runs off the last eight deliveries even as the Royals fell short of 200.
Gujarat’s chase began well — Gill added 64 runs off 50 balls with Sai Sudharsan (35).
Medium pacer Kuldeep Sen, who led the Rajasthan bowling picking 3-41 overall, trapped Sudharsan lbw.
He got two more breakthroughs — bowling Matthew Wade for 4 and then Abhinav Manohar for just 1 — as Gujarat went from 64-0 to 79-3 in the space of 15 deliveries.
Gill held the innings together, reaching 50 off 35 balls. It was his second half-century of the season and laid the groundwork for Gujarat’s third win in six games.
The second half of Titans’ chase was chaotic — Gill was stumped off Yuzvendra Chahal, who also bowled Vijay Shankar for 16.
Impact substitute Shahrukh Khan scored 14 off eight balls, but it was the seventh wicket partnership between Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia that changed the game.
The duo added 39 off only 15 balls, bringing the equation down to the last over. Tewatia sacrificed himself to give strike to Khan off the last delivery, who duly delivered with a boundary to deep backward point.
It was first-place Rajasthan’s first loss in five games this season.
Khan smacked three boundaries off Avesh Khan’s last over to help Gujarat score 199-7 (20 overs). Skipper Shubman Gill top scored for the Titans with 72 off 44 balls, with Khan’s 11-ball 24 not out putting the finishing touch to the chase.
Hosts Rajasthan had put on 196-3 in 20 overs, thanks to half-centuries from Riyan Parag (76) and Sanju Samson (68 not out).
Put in to bat, the Royals lost their openers relatively cheaply. Jos Buttler, who had scored a century in his last outing against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, was out caught off Rashid Khan for eight.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s poor run with the bat continued — he was out four 24 off 19 balls.
Rajasthan was down to 42-2 in 5.4 overs when Samson and Parag came together for their third-wicket stand and batted until the 19th over.
The in-form duo put on a 130-run partnership off 78 balls for the third wicket.
They benefited from some shoddy Gujarat fielding — Parag was dropped twice before the halfway mark, while Samson, too, survived two chances.
It allowed the duo to dictate terms as both hit attacking half-centuries to resurrect the Royals’ innings.
Parag was more aggressive — he hit four sixes and two fours, reaching 50 off 34 balls. He faced 48 balls in all, hitting five sixes.
It was Parag’s third half-century in five outings this season. Samson scored 50 off 31 balls, and hit seven fours and two sixes overall.
Parag was dismissed in the penultimate over, with Samson and Shimron Hetmyer (13 not out) adding 24 runs off the last eight deliveries even as the Royals fell short of 200.
Gujarat’s chase began well — Gill added 64 runs off 50 balls with Sai Sudharsan (35).
Medium pacer Kuldeep Sen, who led the Rajasthan bowling picking 3-41 overall, trapped Sudharsan lbw.
He got two more breakthroughs — bowling Matthew Wade for 4 and then Abhinav Manohar for just 1 — as Gujarat went from 64-0 to 79-3 in the space of 15 deliveries.
Gill held the innings together, reaching 50 off 35 balls. It was his second half-century of the season and laid the groundwork for Gujarat’s third win in six games.
The second half of Titans’ chase was chaotic — Gill was stumped off Yuzvendra Chahal, who also bowled Vijay Shankar for 16.
Impact substitute Shahrukh Khan scored 14 off eight balls, but it was the seventh wicket partnership between Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia that changed the game.
The duo added 39 off only 15 balls, bringing the equation down to the last over. Tewatia sacrificed himself to give strike to Khan off the last delivery, who duly delivered with a boundary to deep backward point.
It was first-place Rajasthan’s first loss in five games this season.
( Source : AP )
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