KOLKATA: Captaincy sometimes brings out the best from a player and Hardik Pandya seems to be the best example. The allrounder, who is maturing as leader and performer with every match, once again led from the front to help his side Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in Qualifier 1 of the IPL at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.
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With the win, Gujarat booked a ticket to the final in their maiden appearance in the tournament.
It was not a typical slam-bang innings generally associated with T20 cricket, but Pandya, who never looked to be in any trouble, kept the asking rate always under control to steal the thunder from a Sanju Samson-Jos Buttler show earlier in the evening. The Royals put up a 188/6 after being asked to bat first by Pandya. GT reached the target with three balls remaining, thanks to some sensational six-hitting by David Miller (68 off 38 balls, 3x4, 5x6) in the final over, getting 191 for three.
RR pacer Trent Boult struck early, having Wriddhiman Saha caught behind in the second ball of the GT innings, but Shubman Gill took charge, playing some delightful shots to help the side get their highest run (64/1) in the Powerplay.
1/10:Gujarat beat Rajasthan
<p>David Miller smashed an unbeaten 68 to lead newcomers Gujarat Titans into the Indian Premier League final with a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
2/10:Pandya and Miller
<p>Chasing 189 for victory in Qualifier 1, Gujarat rode an unbeaten 106-run fourth-wicket stand between skipper Hardik Pandya (40) and Miller to achieve the target with three balls to spare in Kolkata. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
3/10:David Miller
<p>With 16 needed off the final over, Miller smashed each of Prasidh Krishna's first three balls for six to bring the house down at a full capacity Eden Gardens. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
4/10:Match-winning knock
<p>Miller's unbeaten 68 came from 38 balls and included three fours and five sixes. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
5/10:Samson and Buttler
<p>Earlier, Rajasthan started cautiously before Sanju Samson made 47 off 26 balls, adding 68 with Jos Buttler. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
6/10:Sai Kishore
<p>Samson hit five fours and three sixes before falling to Sai Kishore in his attempt to get another hit over the fence only to get caught at long-off. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
7/10:Rashid Khan
<p>Rashid Khan kept a lid on the opposition scoring with his leg-spin as he choked the opposition of runs during his four overs. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
8/10:Jos Buttler
<p>Buttler never quite hit his best form as he hit 12 fours and two sixes in his 56-ball 89. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
9/10:Gill and Wade
<p>Gujarat lost Wriddhiman Saha for nought off Trent Boult on the second ball of the chase before Shubman Gill (35) and Matthew Wade (35) took the attack to the opposition as Gujarat reached 64-1 in six overs. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
10/10:Match-winning stand
<p>Gill and Wade put on 71 before departing but Pandya stood firm and found able company in Miller as the two put the chase back on track. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>Gill's unfortunate run out in a mix-up with Matthew Wade and the latter departing soon after finding Buttler at mid-wicket boundary in Obed McCoy's first over, raised some hopes for RR. But Pandya's composed 40-run innings off 27 balls, without any sixes, left RR to try their luck for the second time in Qualifier 2 on Friday.
Miller gave his skipper able company, finishing off with three consecutive sixes when the Titans needed 16 runs in the last over off Prasidh Krishna. The unbeaten fourth-wicket stand between Pandya and Miller fetched 106 runs in 61 balls.
Earlier, it was Samson who led the initial charge, with Buttler finishing it strongly. Things could have gone worse for GT had their spin duo of Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore not done an excellent job of putting the brakes in the middle overs, when 43 runs came off seven overs after the Powerplay.
RR skipper Samson seemed to be in a mood to send across a message to the selectors after being ignored for the national side. For a change, Samson put the Orange Cap holder Buttler in the background, making his intentions clear by hitting an elegant six off the first ball he faced off Yash Dayal and followed it up with a four through the covers.
But things slowed down once the two spinners started operating in tandem after RR had raced to 55/1 in the Powerplay. Rashid was particularly impressive, giving away just 15 runs off his four overs and perhaps unlucky to go wicket-less in spite of beating the bat often.
The RR skipper fell three runs short of a much-deserved half-century. Buttler who was lucky to survive on 43 and 69, hit Joseph for three boundaries, and got his first six in the penultimate over by lifting Shami over the long-on boundary.
