Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals in IPL final

Skipper Hardik Pandya said coming generations will talk about Gujarat Titans’ IPL triumph in their debut season after they hammered Rajasthan Royals in front of almost 105,000 home fans.

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 in Ahmedabad.

The captain then made 34 with the bat before Shubman Gill (45) and David Miller (32) steered the team home in 18.1 overs to win by seven wickets and bring the house down at the 132,000 capacity stadium.

It was a fairytale finish for a team that entered the world’s richest domestic cricket tournament alongside Lucknow Super Giants in the expanded 10-team IPL this year.

“This title is going to be a special one because we talked about creating a legacy,” said Pandya, who has won five IPL titles including four with Mumbai Indians. “The coming generations will talk about it.”

Gujarat defied critics, who slammed their squad after the February auction, to become the first team to enter the play-offs and then storm into the final.

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.

Buttler, who hit an unbeaten 106 in Rajasthan’s win in the second qualifier, 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.

Buttler, who equalled Virat Kohli’s record of four centuries ion one IPL season, was named player of the tournament.

“Exceeded all my expectations apart from today – the trophy we really wanted,” said Buttler who got the orange cap.
“Disappointed with that. Big congratulations to Hardik and team. Deserving champions.”

Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan returned impressive figures of 1-18 from his four overs of leg-spin to keep down the opposition scoring.