Gujarat Titans continued their winning streak as they beat Rajasthan Royals by 77 runs in the 53rd match of the Indian Premier League. Gujarat Titans were batting first and got off to a brilliant start in the powerplay as both openers gave a brilliant start and stitched up a 100 run partnership. Both openers smashed half centuries and Washington Sundar provided the finishing touches as GT put up 229/5 at the end of the first innings. Chasing the target, Sooryavanshi got RR off to a quick start and they had an excellent powerplay and were tight in the game. Rashid Khan delivered a brilliant spell in the middle overs and Jason Holder finished things off as Rajasthan Royals were bowled out and lost the game by 77 runs.
GT 229/4 (Gill 84, Brijesh 2/37) beat RR 152/10 (Jadeja 38, Rashid Khan 4/33)
Kagiso Rabada: I guess everyone’s just determined (talking about the bowling group). I’m determined myself. And everyone’s given a role. So it’s really simple, just do or try to perform your role to the best of your ability. It’s as simple as that. I guess what’s worked for 11 years will continue to work, right? (smiles, talking about his attitude bowling to Vaibhav) So I guess it’s just hedging your bets and hoping that it comes off. But there’s a whole lot of hard work that’s done behind the scenes. And then a bit of analysis to look at batter’s weaknesses. So there is that type of nuance in the game. But otherwise, it’s just the same old, same old. (On how his body feels) Yeah, body feels good. This is where the fatigue starts to set in, the mental fatigue too. So it’s just about trying to stay on top of that, make sure that you’re as fresh as possible. So that’s where the professional side of the game is needed a lot more, especially in the back end. But my body feels good and hopefully I can just continue what I’ve been doing. Not really (do you keep working on a lot of slower balls?). I feel like the more I try and work on too many slower balls, the more I neglect what I should be working on. But I haven’t bowled too many slower balls this season. But when they’re needed, then I’ll bowl them.
Shubman Gill | GT Captain:
Yeah, definitely, even before this match, we had a conversation that till now I don’t think we had a perfect match. So very happy. I think this was a clean win for us. Definitely (would you say this was a perfect match?). I think we got above maybe 10-15 runs extra on the board. We thought there was a little bit in for the spinners in the middle. It wasn’t easy to hit sixes or get the boundaries. The ball was gripping a little bit. We got 230 runs on the board. We always knew, if we get a couple of wickets in the powerplay, we’re going to have a good game. Yeah, I mean, that’s what we thought as well (we thought 250 was on the cards). Let’s see, let’s keep trying to put the bowlers under pressure and see what score we get. But it wasn’t, like I said, it wasn’t easy to hit spinners through the line or at will. So we thought let’s keep the wickets in hand and try to bat deep. And I know there was a phase, I think, for about a couple of overs where we didn’t get the boundary in the 17th, 18th over. But I think we covered it well in the last over. We believe it’s important to hold the fort up front. That’s where the thought process comes from. We see if we take wickets up front, it always gives our bowlers a bit more chance in the middle overs to attack and then get even more wickets. Because the only way with the impact player and the kind of wickets that there are, the only way to contain the other team is if you keep picking up wickets. There is no other way. So that’s the thought process behind it. Always look to keep attacking and always look to keep taking the wickets. Yeah, very happy. You know, now the next game is at home. Hopefully we’re going to have another good match. (On his ankle injury) I think I just, while taking the run, I think twisted my ankle a little bit. It was quite painful. But I think after half an hour or so, it settled down a bit.
Rashid Khan | Player of the Match:
Quite happy. It was unusual for me last two seasons. This year I have been more consistent. So happy with that. I took only two months to get back on the field after the injury. I had to come back for Afghanistan and to play those games. I was missing my rhythm. I had a good Hundred competition. Just tried to hit the right areas in this match. That was the most important thing, hit the right length. I feel if I pitched it in the right areas, I would get wickets. It's so good, it's important to have players around you. They have played a lot in India, so they have good information. At the same time, I share my experience of playing international cricket. Modern cricket demands more variations. Sai Kishore is working on various skills, he's working on the wrong 'un, I'm excited to see that.
Gujarat Titans have seven wins in 11 matches and are on a red hot winning streak and this win places them in the second spot in the table. On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals suffer another defeat and will be keen to bounce back as we come closer to the playoffs.
