RR vs GT: The Afghani spin magic & Hardik's power-hitting inning helped Gujarat Titans thrash Rajasthan Royals by 9 wickets

Gujarat Titans defeated Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets in Match 48 of IPL 2023, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday. Chasing a target of only 119 runs, GT raced to 119/1 in 13.5 overs, with Wriddhiman Saha smacking an unbeaten knock of 41 runs off 34 balls and Hardik Pandya playing a quickfire unbeaten knock of 39 off 15 deliveries. RR were bowled out for 118 in 17.5 overs, with only Sanju Samson managing to make an impact. Meanwhile, Rashid Khan was in hot form and took three wickets for GT, and Noor Ahmad scalped two dismissals. Read the Match Report of the RR vs GT clash and share your thoughts in the comments.

Read Also: "IPL will take over cricket just like football:" Ravi Shastri

RR vs GT: IPL 2023 Match Report

Rajasthan Royals won the toss & decided to bat first. Their decision went wrong big time as Gujarat's bowling department dominated and destroyed Royal's batting lineup completely. Hardik Pandya came up with an early wicket of Jos Buttler in the second over. Sanju Samson showed intent right from the start and tried to build a partnership and for 4 overs it was stable. Samson smashed a couple of boundaries while Jaiswal joined him with a maximum as well. They were looking good before Mohit Sharma provided a wicket by dismissing Jaiswal by run out. Joshua Little then scalped the huge wicket of Samson for 30 runs as Rajasthan lost their 3 top order batters just for 60 runs on the board.

Rashid Khan dismissed Ashwin in the next over. He just didn't stop there and went on and dismissed Riyan Parag in the 10th over as well. Every source of scoring runs got shattered down by the bowling department of the Gujarat Titans. Padikkal went back to the dugout after scoring 12 runs while Jurel & Hetmyer also failed to contribute much.

Trent Boult swung his bat a couple of times before losing his wicket for 15 runs. Rajasthan were only able to put up 118 on the board before losing all of their wickets. Rashid Khan was the bowler with 3 crucial wickets while Shami, Pandya, and Little got away with one wicket each. Noor Ahmed got himself 2 wickets which were enough to dismantle Rajasthan's batting lineup completely.

Read Also: CSK vs MI: IPL 2023 Match Preview, Possible Lineups, Pitch Report, and Dream XI Team Prediction

RR vs GT: IPL 2023 Match Report

Gujarat got off to a blistering start. After a long time, Wriddhiman Saha found a good start alongside Shubman Gill who controlled the chase right from the start. A slow but stable start gave the platform for the openers to open their hands at the right time. Shubman Gill started with a couple of boundaries while Saha played some classic cricketing shots to lead the chase. Gujarat put up 61 runs without losing a single wicket up to 8 overs.

Chahal drew the first and last blood as he dismissed Shubman Gill which was the first and last wicket that fell for Gujarat. Hardik Pandya took responsibility to chase down the total as soon as possible. Hardik clubbed for a six in Adam Zampa's over. Then he whacked him to deep extra cover for a four, followed by a six over the bowler's head again. Then he clattered a length delivery back down the pitch for another six.

Gujarat Titans completed the chase under the 14th over and won the match by 9 wickets. GG held their ground strong in the top position with 14 points.