AHMEDABAD: Shubman Gill's six off Obed McCoy's bowling sealed the deal for debutants Gujarat Titans as they defeated Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final to win the IPL title here at the Narendra Modi stadium on Sunday. Gill scored an unbeaten 45 off 43 balls to ensure his team chased down 131-run target in 18.1 overs.
"It means a lot. After winning the under-19 World Cup, winning the IPL is just as big, " said Gujarat Titans opener Shubman Gill after the IPL final.
The 22-year old batter played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the previous three seasons and this year was retained by Gujarat Titans team for Rs 7 crores and the youngster played a crucial role in giving his side steady starts throughout the season and in the final he was the highest run-scorer for his side.
1/10:Gujarat Titans win IPL title
<p>Hardik Pandya starred with bat and ball as Gujarat Titans clinched the IPL title in their debut season with a seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals in front of a record crowd of 104,859 in Ahmedabad on Sunday. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
2/10:Champions Gujarat Titans
<p>Pandya returned figures of 3-17 to restrict Rajasthan to 130 for nine in the lop-sided final at the world's biggest cricket stadium and Gujarat's home ground. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
3/10:Pandya the batsman
<p>Pandya then made 34 with the bat before Shubman Gill (45*) and David Miller (32*) steered the team home in 18.1 overs to bring the house down at the 132,000 capacity stadium. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
4/10:Key wickets
<p>Pandya set up victory with his key wickets including Jos Buttler's prized scalp for 39 after Rajasthan, led by Sanju Samson, elected to bat first. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
5/10:Jos Buttler
<p>Buttler finished this season as the leading batsman with 863 runs and his wicket raised the roof at a stadium bigger than the Melbourne Cricket Ground. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
6/10:Rashid Khan
<p>Rashid Khan returned impressive figures of 1-18 from his four overs of leg-spin to keep down the opposition scoring. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
7/10:Pandya the bowler
<p>Pandya, who sent back his opposite number Samson for 14, kept up the pressure and got the big-hitting Shimron Hetmyer out for 11 with a caught and bowled. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
8/10:Mohammed Shami
<p>Fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Yash Dayal, who got opener Yashasvi Jaiswal for 22, worked up good pace to keep Rajasthan on the backfoot from the start. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
9/10:Gill and Pandya
<p>In reply, Gujarat lost Wriddhiman Saha for five and Matthew Wade for eight before Gill and Pandya put the chase back on track. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
10/10:The onslaught
<p>Gill and Pandya put on 63 runs for the third wicket to put the pressure back on the bowling side as Pandya smashed Ravichandran Ashwin for a four and six in the 12th over. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>"It is my fourth year. I wanted to be there till the end and that was the talk with the coaches. Glad I took them over the line," said Shubman Gill.
Gujarat Titans bowlers made the most of the home conditions in Ahmedabad to restrict them to 130/9 in 20 overs. Skipper Hardik Pandya bagged three wickets and R Sai Kishore took two wickets for GT.
"Our bowlers bowled really well to restrict them to 130. We wanted to keep them under 150 but fortunately it was much lesser, " said Gill.
Playing on homeground Gujarat Titans made the most of the conditions and became the champions of IPL 2022.
