How Gujarat Titans crafted the perfect IPL season | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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How Gujarat Titans crafted the perfect IPL season

May 31, 2022 07:12 PM IST

In a format known to be notoriously fickle, Gujarat Titans hardly put a foot wrong all season long.

It was the sixth game of the season for Gujarat Titans, their second at Pune taking place in the heat of April. Hardik Pandya was sitting out with injury; Rashid Khan was leading in his place. Batting first Chennai Super Kings piled on the runs, to set a target of 170 to win.

Gujarat Titans squad celebrates with the IPL trophy(ANI)
Gujarat Titans squad celebrates with the IPL trophy(ANI)

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Reduced to 16 for three, Titans were immediately on their backfoot as they started their chase. Already thin on batting, lynchpin Pandya was not there to hold the innings and Shubman Gill was out for a golden duck. CSK were completely on top when Rahul Tewatia became the fifth wicket to fall at the total of 87.

It looked like Titans’ game plan of building their nucleus on a strong bowling attack, would backfire. They needed 48 off 18 balls, and it looked all but over. David Miller was still there but the other finisher, Tewatia was out. But, to the delight of the Ahmedabad-based side, Rashid Khan stepped up. He took Chris Jordan on for 25 runs in the 18th over to change the complexion of the game. The target was overhauled on the second-last ball of the last over with Rashid Khan hitting a 21-ball 40 not out and Miller a 51-ball 94 not out.

“First couple of games we played, we won close games. This is a close game too. We could've lost four out of six, but instead have won five out of six,” Miller said after the game. Titans’ South African recruit perfectly summed up Titans first-half of the debut season. The team was playing daring cricket, pulling off wins from impossible situations.

In their next game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, at the Wankhede Stadium, Titans were left needing 22 off six balls during their chase of a mammoth total of 195. Again, Titans pulled it off with four sixes and one four of pacer Marco Janson. Tewatia (40* off 21 balls) hit the first ball for six and then Rashid (31* off 11 balls) smashed three of the sixes and one four.

It was the decisive moment in their campaign. In their third game of the season, Tewatia had provided early proof of Titans’ never-say-die spirit by hitting two sixes of the last two balls to win the game against Punjab Kings. But doing it one time can be a fluke. Now, they had won the third time, and the CSK chase was achieved without their middle-order mainstay and captain, Pandya.

Miller said the catalyst for Titans’ performance came from sensational show against Punjab Kings.

“It has obviously been a good season, really good season. But for me the standout has been Rahul Tewatia. You are talking about the games that haven’t sort of been man of the match awards, but his two sixes, we needed 12 off the last two balls, he won the game there,” said Miller.

When Hardik Pandya saw his team pull off such close matches, he was a bit apprehensive that since everything was going their way at the start, they might run out of luck in the final stages of the tournament.

“I think God is telling us I'll help you guys. But it's happening quite often that by the time the main games come, we might run out of luck. But it's been fantastic. People are stepping up,” Pandya had said after that unbelievable chase against SRH.

The Titans captain needn’t have worried. His team turned into a well-oiled machine and topped the league table to become the first team to qualify and by the time the play-offs came, they were oozing of confidence.

Titans' opponents in Qualifier 1, Rajasthan Royals, had put together their strong side in many seasons. They were brushed aside in a display of ruthlessness. In the first knock-out game at Eden Gardens, between the top two sides, Titans had moved on from nervous chasers into a calm and calculated unit. The target of 189 was overhauled with ease, with seven wickets to spare. In the final, Titans were all over Royals from the word go.

Chief coach Ashish Nehra has avoided speaking about his contribution but the players’ give a lot of credit to him for creating the right atmosphere in the side while pushing the players hard in training. In their video chat for the official IPL website, Pandya said how the coach made them slog it out in the nets while mentor and batting coach spoke about how the former India pacer impressed with his tactical inputs.

Rashid Khan put down the success to the clarity of role for each player in the team.

“More important was the balance we had in the team, it was something that helped us to get to this position, because it was clear to each and every player where I am going to bat and this is going to be the situation I will face in the game and was fully prepared for that. There was no confusion in the players’ mind on the responsibility and how I am going to play, what role I am going to play and it was clear from game one. As a bowling, it was clear that this is my responsibility and where I am going to bowl. The balance was the team was top-class and that is how we got here.”

“A lot of guys have put their hands up throughout the competition in small moments that have contributed to lot of wins,” said Miller.

Miller himself had a stellar season. For a batter doing the finisher’s role he averaged a stunning 68.71, scoring 481 runs at a strike rate of 142.73, -- his best-ever showing in the IPL.

Rashid Khan’s ability as a bowler needs no introduction, it’s his contributions with the bat that stood out, playing a decisive role in chases. “I always had that belief I can score those 25-20 runs for the team at the end if the team needs and there was always that confidence which you needed as a player, that kind of opportunity, when someone starts believing in you, and give that kind of opportunity, then you believe that I am going to go and deliver for the team, and that is the reason behind performing more in this IPL and I am enjoying it. The environment always helps, once you have the positive energy around you and the guys believe in you, automatically the performance comes out.

Most of all, Pandya’s cricketing intelligence was under-rated. Tactically, he has been astute. Of their four defeats in 16 games, only in two matches they were comprehensively beaten, against Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight wickets.

In the T20 form of cricket you need to win close games only then you can climb up the ladder. Titans’ last over wins this season included -- off the last ball vs PBKS, with one ball left vs CSK, with two balls left vs LSG, by eight runs vs KKR, with three balls to spare vs RCB and off the last ball versus SRH. It is these efforts which helped lift their team spirit and galvanised them into a champion outfit.

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