Captain Hardik Pandya's clinical all-round performance helped Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by 37 runs in an IPL 2022 match at DY Patil Stadium, here on Thursday.
It was Rajasthan's fourth win of the IPL 2022 season and they climbed to the top of the points table with 8 points.
A sensational unbeaten half-century by captain Hardik Pandya (87 not out off 52) powered Gujarat Titans to 192/4 in 20 overs. Apart from Hardik, Abhinav Manohar (43 off 28) and David Miller (31 not out off 14) also made valuable contributions with the bat for Gujarat, who were invited to bat first.
Kuldeep Sen (1/51), Yuzvendra Chahal (1/32) and Riyan Parag (1/12) picked one wicket each for Rajasthan.
Chasing a big total, Jos Buttler played an attacking knock (54 off 24) to give Rajasthan a flying start but he didn't get the support from the end. Once Buttler got out on an excellent deceptive leg-cutter in Lockie Ferguson over, it was a mountain to climb for Rajasthan.
Lower down the order, Shimron Hetmyer (29), Riyan Parag (18) and James Neesham (17) tried hard but it was not good enough as Rajasthan were restricted to 155-9 in 20 overs, losing by 37 runs.
Lockie Ferguson (3/23) and Yash Dayal (3/40) picked up three wickets each for Gujarat while Mohammed Shami (1/39) and Hardik Pandya (1/18) also chipped in with one wicket each.
Brief scores: Gujarat Titans 192/4 in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 87 not out, Abhinav Manohar 43; Riyan Parag 1/12) beat Rajasthan Royals 155-9 in 20 overs ( Jos Buttler 54, Shimron Hetmyer 29; Lockie Ferguson 3/23) by 37 runs.
