On This Day In 2022: Gujarat Titans Beat Rajasthan Royals to Become IPL Champions in Debut Season

A couple of years ago today, May 29, a debuting Gujarat Titans squad carved their way to an Indian Premier League (IPL) crown in their debut season. Gujarat were one of the two teams to declare an interest in the IPL franchise after the tournament’s Governing Council invited new sides in August 2021.

The then-newly formed IPL club made some big moves ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, drafting Hardik Pandya as the team’s captain. What happened next was history.

Gujarat dominated the entire tournament before beating the Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 1 and then the final to win their maiden T20 crown.

The Gujarat Titans emerged as the best team in the group stage with 10 wins from 14 games. They beat the Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets for a spot in the final.

Rajasthan bounced back from the loss in the second qualifier, defeating the Royal Challengers Bengaluru by seven wickets to make the final.

The IPL 2022 final was held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In the ultimate clash, the Gujarat Titans surpassed all expectations to beat the Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets to clinch the title. The game began with Rajasthan winning the toss and electing to bat first.

The 2008 winners were off to a great start as the opening duo of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal amassed 31 runs in the first overs. However, Gujarat skipper Hardik Pandya ensured that he didn’t let the former champions get away with an advantage. He scalped a trio of wickets to send Rajasthan’s big hitters packing. Hardik’s list of scalps included Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer.

The wickets shifted the game’s momentum in favour of the Gujarat Titans. The Rajasthan Royals kept losing wickets in frequent intervals to finish the half at 130/9.

Jos Buttler was the top scorer of the innings with 39 runs from 35 deliveries. The duo of Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill began the chase for the Gujarat Titans in the second half. The Hardik Pandya-led side suffered early setbacks as Saha and Matthew Wade departed within the first four overs of the half. However, Gill stepped up at the need of the hour to produce an unbeaten knock of 45 runs. He smashed three boundaries and a six to seal a dominant win.

Hardik Pandya was declared as the Player of the Match for his 34-run contribution and a three-wicket haul. Jos Buttler won the Player of the Tournament award for scoring 863 runs in 17 games.

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