Tags: Indian T20 League 2023, Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals, 23rd Match at Ahmedabad, Apr 16, 2023, Rajasthan XI, Gujarat, Sanju Viswanath Samson, Shimron Odilon Hetmyer
Published on: Apr 17, 2023
Scorecard | Commentary | Graphs
Sanju Samson (60 off 32) and Shimron Hetmyer (56 not out off 26) played brilliant knocks as Rajasthan Royals (RR) beat Gujarat Titans (GT) by three wickets in match number 23 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, April 16. Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to bowl first in the game. Their bowlers did an excellent job to restrict Gujarat Titans to 177/7. In the chase, Rajasthan got home in 19.2 overs.
GT lost Wriddhiman Saha cheaply for 4 as he miscued one up in the air and was caught despite multiple people running for the ball. David Miller top-scored with 46 off 30 balls, while Shubman Gill contributed 45 off 34.
Sai Sudharsan (20 off 19) and Hardik Pandya (28 off 19) also chipped in, but GT needed at least one of them to carry on. Abhinav Manohar played a fine cameo of 27 in 13 balls to lift his team past the 175-run mark. Sandeep Sharma starred for RR with the ball, claiming 2/25.
In the chase, Rajasthan lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for 1 and Jos Buttler for a duck. Impact Player Devdutt Padikkal contributed 26 off 25 before falling to Rashid Khan. Riyan Parag also fell cheaply to Rashid Khan for 5. Samson and Hetmyer then combined to turn the contest on its head.
Samson slammed Rashid for three consecutive sixes. In all, he struck three fours and six sixes. Hetmyer was also exceptional with his big-hitting as he slammed two fours and five sixes. He also hit the winning runs, clubbing Noor Ahmad for a maximum.
Speaking after winning Player of the Match, Hetmyer said, “I don't have any words. Difficult to win against these guys, they beat us thrice last year but today was sort of a revenge. I practise these situations, it helps when you practice with that mindset of knowing we are few wickets down and chasing 100 with 8 overs to go.”
On Noor Ahmad bowling the final over, he added, “I was actually pretty happy to be honest, he bowled well throughout so the first ball all I was thinking about was getting that double and take it from there.”
--By A Cricket Correspondent
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