That's all from us folks! Hope you enjoyed this cracker! Until next time then ...
That's all from us folks! Hope you enjoyed this cracker! Until next time then ...
Awards -
Orange Cap - Jos Buttler
Purple Cap - Yuzvendra Chahal
Player of the Final - Hardik Pandya
Emerging Player of the Season - Umran Malik
Player of the season - Jos Buttler
Here's what the GT players had to say -
Shubman Gill: It means a lot. After winning the under-19 World Cup, winning the IPL is just as big. It is my fourth year. I wanted to be there till the end and that was the talk with the coaches. Glad I took them over the line. Our bowlers bowled really well to restrict them to 130. We wanted to keep them under 150 but fortunately it was much lesser.
Rahul Tewatia: We were relaxed evren in the qualifier game, we knew we had done well to top the league, we were confident about finishing well. Don't know about party plans, but someone asked me about goals for the tournament, I said I had no personal goal, the only thing was to win the tournament for my team. Everyone was saying we were short of an experienced batter, but the trust shown in myself and Miller by the team management in the middle order was outstanding. Hardik just told me to go out there and finish off games.
Lockie Ferguson:I couldn't be more rapped for the boys, finishing with a win. (On his fastest delivery) Very proud of the boys for the way they bowled. Hardik was superb too, he led from the front.
David Miller: It's been a phenomenal journey, finishing it at the back end was a special feeling, but it has been a collective effort, everyone has stuck up their hand and performed well. (On Pandya) He's been very relaxed, we've had a very good bond with Ashish (Nehra) and Hardik. He's got better and better as the competition gone on, tactically he's been brilliant. Just grown from strength to strength.
Rashid Khan: We assessed the wicket well, we knew it would be hard to chase down 150. Everyone had to take responsibility, we did well to come back well in the middle overs. He is the only guy whom we didn't want to bowl to and I'm happy that he's part of our team (on Shubman Gill), Biggest achievement of your career is to be part of a winning IPL team. You always want to do well in big competitions like this. Winning tournaments like this, you'll need to put in a lot of hardword and this is certainly a high point of my career.
Matthew Wade: Just the team environment, relaxing environment, Hardik, Rashid were leading from the front. It was a family atmosphere, everyone felt welcome, Ashish [Nehra] ensured that. Here everyone gets net time, everyone gets a chance. It has been amazing, hopefully we can come back next year in front of these fans.
Mohammed Shami: We needed to start the tournament well (on the first ball dismissal of KL in the team's first game), set-up a template for the team. The idea was only to start well for the team, concentrate on the line and length. We (himself and Saha) have known each other well for the last 20 years and have a good understanding as well.
Wriddhiman Saha: This is my 5th final 2nd final I have won, someone said our team was not good after the auctions, but we proved them wrong. The first ball he bowled was outstanding, everyone contributed and it was a team performance.
Before we get going, here's the preview from Aayush Puthran -
If Voltaire's theory 'common sense is not so common' needed any more validation, IPL 2022 has provided that. Two of the most poorly assembled teams, or as it seemed after the auctions - Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals - find themselves in Ahmedabad on the final day to get hold of the big prize, after having already been the two best teams in the league stage.
With two different strategies and two separate sets of drawbacks - one with too many specialists and lacking depth in either department and the other with a one-dimensional batting approach with personnel handling roles they haven't hitherto been entrusted with in top-flight cricket - the two teams have managed to script their own success stories.
What remains common though in their victories, is the strong reliance on their respective bowling attacks. On the batting front, while Gujarat Titans have had multiple players in the middle order stand up and deliver match-winning performances, Rajasthan Royals has ridden on the success of Jos Buttler - a one-man run-making machine, who has clobbered over 800 runs with 4 centuries. The pain points of the two teams' batting concerns are different. While Royals haven't found ample support from the middle order, barring Shimron Hetmyer, the uncertain form of the top order has been an issue for the newcomers.
There hasn't been a lot separating the two teams on their road to the final, with Titans winning 11 games compared to Royals' 10, of which seven wins came in the last over. While it does give a strong indication of their ability to squeeze themselves out of pressure situations, it is also equally indicative that they haven't outplayed teams as much as the victory count so far should suggest. But what they do have to their advantage is that they are the only team that the Royals haven't beaten so far in this tournament.
Even as Gujarat Titans are making their maiden appearance in an IPL final, their captain Hardik Pandya is familiar with the stage and knows a bit about winning, something that not too many players from either side, who are like to be in the XIs on the final day can boast of.
Nonetheless, despite beating conventional wisdom, the two teams are set to enter the summit clash.
Maybe, it's just a case of two think tanks being ahead of the rest of the pack in terms of understanding the constructs of the best XI, which in T20 cricket has far advanced from more conventional approaches. Or maybe, they were able to find better role definitions for the players in their possession. Or more simply, most of the players clicked for them in those very roles, while it didn't work out as well for the other teams.
None of it would matter anyway for the Sunday evening show begins at the biggest stadium of them all. When the lights and cameras are ready, the game of plans, skills and nerves will take centre stage.