THardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans are on a roll in the ongoing 2022 season of the Indian Premier League. The Ahmedabad-based franchise defeated the Virat Kohli-starrer Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 wickets on Saturday (April 30) to register its eighth win of this year’s tournament.
The Titans have played nine matches so far in their debut season in the world’s richest franchise cricket league and won eight of those to all but secure their place in the playoffs. With their win over RCB at Brabourne Stadium, Hardik Pandya & Co. also became the first team in the tournament’s history to start the season with eight or more wins in the first nine matches.
The Titans started the season against fellow debutants, Lucknow Super Giants, at Wankhede Stadium on March 28 and defeated the KL Rahul-led side by five wickets to get off to a dream start in the cash-rich league.
In the second match, they were up against 2020 finalists Delhi Capitals, and in that game, Shubman Gill’s 84 and Lockie Ferguson’s 4 for 28 helped the Titans defend a 172-run target to beat DC by 14 runs.
Gujarat completed their hat-trick against Punjab Kings at Brabourne Stadium. In that game, Rahul Tewatia hammered PBKS all-rounder Odean Smith for two back-to-back sixes in the final two balls to win the last-ball thriller by 6 wickets
But three days later, Pandya’s men suffered their first and only defeat of the season so far against 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad. Batting first, GT rode on Hardik’s 50 to post 162 for 7 on board, which SRH chased down in 19.1 overs with 8 wickets in hand.
After a shocking result, the Titans bounced back in style against the Rajasthan Royals and defeated them by 37 runs to get their campaign back on track. They followed it up with a three-wicket win over CSK in which skipper Hardik Pandya wasn’t involved.
In the seventh match, the Titans survived Andre Russell’s blitzkrieg to defeat the 2021 losing finalists by 8 runs. And in the eighth match, they took revenge against SRH by chasing down the target of 197 runs in the final-over thriller.
With 16 points, the Gujarat Titans sit at the top of the 10-team league table and are almost certain of a place in the playoffs.
