Defending Champions Gujarat Titans became the first team in the history of the cash-rich league to reach the final of their first two seasons in the Indian Premier League. Hardik Pandya-led side outplayed the five-time champions Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 to achieve this historic feat on Friday.
Gujarat Titans are on a roll in this edition of the cash-rich league making it into the second consecutive final in the cash-rich league, in the 2023 league stage they have ten games out of the 14 games and are on the verge of winning back-to-back titles in IPL 2023.
In the inaugural season of 2022, Gujarat Titans performed consistently throughout the league and they finished the league stage at the top of the points table with ten wins from 14 games and then went on to beat Rajasthan Royals in the Qualifier and the final to lift the title under Pandya’s captaincy.
This will also be the first in the history of the Indian Premier that the teams played in the opening match of the season play the grand finals in the same venue, as Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings played the inaugural match of IPL 2023 in which the defending champions came on top of the MS Dhoni-led side.
Gujarat Titans have found different match-winners throughout the season like Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Mohit Sharma, and Mohammed Shami putting their hand to perform for the team in the given opportunities.
Gujarat Titans bowlers have been the bright spot for the defending champions as their bowlers are in the list of top three leading wicket-takers in IPL 2023, as Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, and Mohit Sharma combined pick up 79 wickets in this edition of the cash-rich league and their batter Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, and Sai Sudarshan doing the job for the team at the top of the order.
Ahead of the 2022 season, not many people gave the team a chance, deeming them weak on paper but Hardik Pandya lead the team exceptionally well to lead their side to their first IPL title and has shown his potential as a leader to lead India in the future and he has received appreciation from all over for the way he captained the team as well as led the team from the very front in the IPL.
So far, only two teams– Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians – have managed to defend their titles and win back-to-back IPL trophies. It will be interesting to see whether Gujarat Titans can replicate the historic feat achieved by this legendary team.