Gujarat Titans defeated Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets and advanced to their third Indian Premier League final in five seasons because to Shubman Gill’s traditional batting masterclass in the era of muscle on his way to a magnificent hundred at Mullanpur on Friday.
After the Rajasthan Royals chose to bat on a used surface in the Qualifier 2, teenage tornado Vaibhav Sooryavanshi led the team to 214/6 with some incredible strokes in a superbly timed 96 off 47 balls.
The prolific opening pair of Gill (104 off 53) and Sai Sudharsan (58 off 32) put up a remarkable 167-run partnership off 77 balls to help the Titans easily overhaul the target, which was within striking distance of a top-heavy team.
Gill became the first captain to hit a hundred in IPL playoffs and this the first time that two batters from the same team have gone past the 700-plus runs mark (Gill & Sudharsan) in an IPL edition.
Earlier, Sooryavanshi produced some incredible blows in a superbly timed 96 off 47 balls and Donovan Ferreira hit Rashid Khan for four sixes in the 20th over to power Rajasthan Royals to 214/6.
Compared to Wednesday night, there was a larger crowd there, and most of them came to watch the 15-year-old go about his aggressive business. With Sooryavanshi continuing to dominate the top bowlers, including Jason Holder and Kagiso Rabada this time, they received more than their money’s worth.
Sooryavanshi had to adjust on a used surface after losing Yashavi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel in the second over. Mohammed Siraj, Rabada, and Prasidh Krishna arrived with a clear plan: bowl back of a length into the body and throw in the odd bouncer to contain Sooryavanshi.
The ball did not hit the bat as smoothly as it did in the Eliminator despite using the same pitch for the second consecutive game.
Because the bowlers did not give Sooryavanshi anything to free his arms, he was unable to time the ball early. Sooryavanshi was able to play incredible shots despite the difficulties he faced; the best one was a straight six off a 153 kmph back-of-length delivery from Rabada.
Given the circumstances, Ravindra Jadeja (45 not out off 35) was promoted to number four and performed admirably by chasing the pacers, especially Krishna, who bowled too short in his opening over. After the eighth over, Jadeja was retired due to a tennis elbow, but he later came back to help Ferreria in the last overs (38 not out off 11).
Sooryavanshi was fortunate enough to be dropped by Sai Sudharshan on 46. But in the middle overs, he went on to score his sixth fifty of the competition and made GT pay for it.
Sooryavanshi played two bold forehands off Jason Holder, who was once again outstanding in the middle overs, after controlling Rabada despite being struck on the helmet by the South African.
For the second straight game, Sooryavanshi was dismissed in third man due to a short ball from Rabada, despite the fact that a well-earned century was within reach like it was on Wednesday night.
The choice to give the ball to Rashid in the last over did not work out, even though GT was on track to keep the Royals under 200. Ferreira targeted him for a spray of sixes for a possibly game-changing 27-run over on a dismal night.
