The 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) came to an end on Sunday (May 29) with Gujarat Titans emerging as victorious. Playing their first-ever season in the tournament, the Gujarat-based outfit thrashed Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets in the title-decider.
Hardik Pandya led his team from the very front, impressing with both bat and ball to guide his side to the title. The Titans thoroughly dominated the contest in front of a roaring home crowd of 1,04,859 at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Led by Pandya’s impressive 3-wicket haul, the Gujarat-based outfit managed to restrict their high-flying opponents to a modest total of 130 for 9. For the Royals, their star man Jos Buttler was the top-scorer, scoring 39 off 35 balls.
In reply, the Titans chased down the total with utmost ease. They did not start well and lost the wickets of Wriddhiman Saha and Matthew Wade inside 5 overs. However, it did not take them long to take charge of the game.
They eventually crossed the finishing line on the first ball of the 19th over when Shubman Gill finished the game with a six off Obed McCoy. Gill top-scored for the champions, scoring an unbeaten 45 while Pandya (34) and David Miller (32*) also played crucial knocks.
Similarities between Gujarat Titans’ win and Team India’s 2011 World Cup win:
Soon after the final ended, Gujarat Titans were quick to remind the fans of the stunning similarities between Gujarat Titans’ triumph in IPL 2022 and Team India’s victory in the 2011 World Cup.
Here is the tweet from Gujarat Titans:
Number 7️⃣ jersey
Finishing with a 6️⃣
Gary and Nehraji celebrating ?
Beating Sanga and Malinga's team ??Where have we seen this before? ? pic.twitter.com/lF8mHajQLw
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) May 29, 2022
Gill wears the number 7 jersey for the Titans and he was the one who finished the game with a six. Similarly, MS Dhoni had won the game for India with a six while wearing his famous number 7 jersey.
Just like in 2011, Ashish Nehra along with Gary Kersten were part of the winning team while Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga ended up on the losing side. Nehra, Sangakkara and Malinga, however, were players in 2011. On the other hand, Kirsten was Team India’s head coach.
Another similarity was that in both the games, the captains won the Man of the Match award.