TATA IPL 2024 Match 24 , RR Vs GT - Match Report
A splendid knock of 72(44) from captain Shubman Gill and a fantastic final flourish from Rashid Khan (24* off 11) and Rahul Tewatia (22 off 11) helped Gujarat Titans pull off a thrilling last-ball win over Rajasthan Royals in Match 24 of the TATA IPL 2024 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
Gill laid the platform with 72(44) and then with 40 needed off 15 balls, Rashid and Tewatia got together to pull off a stunning win off the last ball of the match. With 15 needed off the last over, Rashid hit three fours including a last ball winning four with two required off the final ball to spark celebrations in the GT camp. Rashid had also bowled a brilliant spell of 1/18 in the first innings.
Earlier, Riyan Parag (76 off 48) and captain Sanju Samson's (68* off 38) crucial fifties had helped RR post a competitive 196/3.
Parag and Samson helped RR recover from 42/2 and stitched a spectacular 130-run stand off just 178 balls to help RR post 196/3.
Chasing 197, Gujarat Titans got off to a steady start, scoring 44 without the loss of any wicket in the Powerplay. Openers Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan played some fantastic strokes with Gill hitting his boundaries predominantly in the 'V' region.
The pair brought up the 50-run stand in the seventh over. Sudharsan then smacked a couple of fours off Chahal and got lucky two balls later as Chahal couldn't hold on to a tough caught and bowled chance.
Samson then introduced pacer Kuleep Sen into the attack and he made an instant impact picking up three wickets in two overs to jolt GT. He, at first, trapped Sudharsan LBW on 35(29) and in his next over, he made Wade drag one on before cleaning up Abhinav Manohar with a absolute beauty three balls later to reduce GT to 79/3. In between, the play was halted post the 10th over due to rain.
Gill then brought up his fifty off 35 balls. Vijay Shankar tried to bring some urgency but he was cleaned up by Chahal. The GT captain then switched gears, hitting two fours off R Ashwin and two off Chahal, but Chahal bounced back hard to have him stumped with a clever wide delivery as he saw him charging down the track, Samson did the rest as RR scalped a big wicket.
With 59 needed foff 24, Shahrukh and Rahul Tewatia went on the attack, hitting two fours and a six to take 17 off it. But Avesh Khan's brilliant yorker in the next over trapped Shahrukh LBW. Avesh bowled a brilliant over giving away just 7 runs. With the equation reading 35 needed off 12, Tewatia and Rashid Khan cracked three fours off Sen to make it a 20-run over.
With 15 needed off the last over, Rashid Khan started off well with a four off the first ball. A couple followed before Rashid squeezed one wide of the keeper for a four to bring the equation down to 5 needed off 3. The next ball was a single but drama followed the next ball as Tewatia mistimed a loft over mid off and Tewatia was out trying to take a risky third run. The equation came down to two needed off one ball and Rashid Khan finished it off in style smashing one over point for a four to spark exuberant celebrations.
Earlier, the Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to field.
The visitors started off well, picking up the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler inside the Powerplay and conceding 43 runs.
Jaiswal played some cracking drives through the off side and hit five fours, but he departed in the fifth over, looking to scoop one and only edging it to the keeper Matthew Wade who pulled off a splendid leaping catch.
Captain Sanju Samson arrived at the crease and got into the groove straightaway with a couple of delightful fours. But Buttler, who had struggled to get going, departed in the final over of the Powerplay as captain Shubman Gill introduced Rashid Khan inside the Powerplay and he struck off the fourth delivery, having Buttler caught at slip.
RR couldn't get sustained momentum going as they reached 43/2 at the end of the Powerplay.
The home side kept things tight and didn't let RR score freely. They could have had another wicket in the first half of the innings but Wade couldn't hold on to an outside edge of Parag, off Rashid Khan. Parag finally broke the shackles with a six and a four off Noor Ahmad and Rashid Khan respectively as RR reached 73/2 at the halfway mark.
Parag and Samson then turned things around and changed things completely as they pressed the accelerator button. Parag smacked a six over deep mid-wicket off Noor to bring up the 50-run stand off 39 balls. He smashed another one into the stands in the same over to bring up RR's 100 with a 15-run over.
Parage then brought up his 50 (off 34 balls) in style with a powerful six over deep mid-wicket off Mohit Sharma, his 3rd half-century in four innings.
Samson too joined the boundary-hitting party as he cracked a couple of powerful fours and a six off Spencer Johnson to make it 16 off the 15th over. The duo brought up the 100-run stand off just 64 balls. Samson then brought up his fifty off 31 balls. The pair kept going and added 130 off 78 before Parag (76 off 48) was finally dismissed in the penultimate over via a very good catch on the long off fence by Vijay Shankar, off Mohit Sharma.
Samson and Hetmyer then provided the final flourish, smacking 19 off the last over to propel RR to 196/3. Samson remained unbeaten on 68 off 38 balls while Hetmyer remained not out on 13 off 5.
RR brought on Keshav Maharaj as their Impact player, replacing Yashasvi Jaiswal while Shahrukh Khan was named GT's Impact Player replacing Mohit Sharma, at the start of the second innings.