Gujarat Titans muscle into IPL final
The Gujarat Titans have officially booked their ticket to the IPL finals after defeating the Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets with three balls remaining.
A partnership of 106 in ten overs muscled the Gujarat Titans to victory. It was an impressive death over take down with the Titans smashing three consecutive sixes to take down the Rajasthan royals.
The Titans put on a record-breaking performance, successfully chasing 16 runs in the final over. This is the most target runs any team has successfully chased in an IPL play-off.
This is also the third time Gujarat Titans successfully chased down a 180-plus target this season.
The previous record was 13 by the Chennai Super Kings in last year’s qualifier against the Delhi Capitals.
Rajasthan Royal’s captain Sanju Samson said: "Happy with the score. Wicket was a bit sticky. It was helping bowlers, there was swing in the powerplay. It was two-paced, and bounce was not even. I was lucky to get a few runs in the powerplay... That kind of total in that kind of conditions was great... Having Riyan helps [as a bowling option], but the wicket was good to bat in the second innings. We have been playing good cricket... Couple of overs and extra runs here and there... Luck plays a huge role; toss plays a huge role. Controllable is just to come back and express yourself."
Jos Buttler laced three boundaries early on to give Royals the push they needed. Samson then came out, clearing his front leg and swinging through cleanly, he hit three fours and two sixes off his first 10 deliveries.
His first non-boundary run came in the seventh over. Samson raced to 30 off 13 as Royals made 55 for 1 in the first six overs.
From the end of the third over to the start of the 15th, Buttler failed to hit a single boundary.
It wasn't until the 19th over that he hit his first six. The last five overs went for 64, Buttler alone hitting 52.
However, Buttler's 89 off 56 went in vain as titans managed to smash 50 off the last five overs to give themself a ticket to their dream finale.
