IPL 2022: MATCH 43 & 44 RESULTS
Match 43: Gujarat Titans won by 6 wickets
The Gujarat Titans (GT) resumed their winning streak in the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Saturday at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 6 wickets. Gujarat Titans' Rahul Tewatia and David Miller once again showed their finishing prowess with the bat as they successfully chased down the target in the last over. GT openers Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha started smoothly with the bat, scoring boundaries from both ends as they chased a total of 171. At the end of the powerplay, GT was 46-0. The opener, Saha, was caught in the outfield by Hasaranga in the eighth over, ending the fifty-run partnership for the first wicket.
Before being trapped LBW by Shahbaz Ahmed, Gill hit his first six of the innings. At the half-way point, GT led 77-2. After skipper Hardik Pandya was caught in the deep by Lomror, Shahbaz took his second wicket. In the 12th over, new batsmen David Miller and Sai Sudharsan both smashed fours. Hasaranga's second wicket was taken by substitute wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat, who took a fine catch behind the stumps to dismiss Sudharsan. After Miller smashed a four and a six each, GT needed 58 off the final five overs. In the 16th over, Miller and Tewatia added three fours.
Tewatia and Miller reversed the game's momentum by conceding 17 runs in the 18th over. Tewatia smacked the final ball of the penultimate over for six runs, reducing the equation to 7 runs from six deliveries. As GT chased down the mark with three balls to spare, Tewatia scored the winning runs. Earlier, RCB, who chose to bat first, made one change in the eleven, with Mahipal Lomror replacing Suyash Prabhudessai. With two fours in the first over, Virat Kohli got off the mark. Faf du Plessis, on the other hand, was caught behind off Pradeep Sangwan's bowling and went out without scoring.
Kohli kept going after the GT bowling attack, hitting three more fours. At the opposite end, Rajat Patidar hit two fours, and RCB were 43-1 at the end of the powerplay. After Kohli and Patidar dealt in boundaries, the fifty partnership was up for the second wicket. Kohli's half-century came in the 13th over, as RCB passed 100 runs for the first time. Patidar reached his first IPL fifty before Sangwan claimed his second wicket, catching the batter. After Kohli was dismissed by Shami in the 17th over and Dinesh Karthik was caught off Rashid Khan's bowling, GT increased the pressure.
Glenn Maxwell, on the other hand, went for broke and smashed three fours and two sixes on his way to 33 off 18. After Rashid Khan made a brilliant catch at extra cover, Ferguson put an end to Maxwell's innings. RCB concluded with a total of 170/6 after conceding 15 runs in the last over after Mahipal Lomror whacked a six and four each before being caught on the penultimate delivery.
Scores: Gujarat Titans 174/4 (Rahul Tewatia 43*, David Miller 39*; Shahbaz Ahmed 2-26) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 170/6 (Virat Kohli 58, Rajat Patidar 52; Pradeep Sangwan 2-19) by 6 wickets.
Match 44: Mumbai Indians won by 5 wickets
The Mumbai Indians (MI) won their first game of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season on Saturday at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, defeating Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 5 wickets. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma led the charge with the bat, saving MI's bacon by successfully chasing down the 159-run target. MI were 22/0 in two overs chasing 159 until skipper Rohit Sharma's top-edge off Ravi Ashwin's bowling was caught by Daryl Mitchell. With his aggressive punches, Ishan Kishan put pressure on the bowlers, but the opener mistimed a pull-shot, which was caught by Samson. At the end of six overs, MI were 41-2.
Suryakumar Yadav countered with three fours to get things started. With a six straight down the ground, Tilak Varma was also off the mark. In the next three overs, RR kept things tight with the ball, scoring only 14 runs. At the 10-over mark, Michigan was 75-2. MI were on course to knock down the mark after a third-wicket partnership of fifty runs. Suryakumar Yadav hit a six in the 14th over to get his half-century. To get back into the game, RR took two quick wickets. Against Chahal and Krishna's bowling, both Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma holed out to the deep.
When the equation was down to a run-a-ball 12, Tim David hit two important fours against Kuldeep Sen. After Pollard was caught in the outfield and MI needed four out of six, Kuldeep Sen kept RR's chances alive. Daniel Sams, on the other hand, finished the chase with a six, and MI won the match with four balls to spare. RR, who were given the opportunity to bat first, did not modify their lineup from the previous game. Before the opener was dropped at backward-point in the third over, Devdutt Padikkal was on the move with three fours.
After Padikkal was caught at long-off by Pollard, Hrithik Shokeen provided the breakthrough for Mumbai Indians. After Buttler scored two fours, RR was 40-1 at the end of the powerplay. Sanju Samson got in on the act right away with two sixes. However, after being caught at deep point by Kumar Kartikeya, the RR skipper was unable to clear the ropes once more. At the 10-over point, RR were 73-2, and Buttler was joined by Daryl Mitchell. The pair kept the scoreboard ticking over with a 37-run partnership for the next wicket. After Mitchell was caught at covers, Daniel Sams put an end to the collaboration.
Buttler hit four sixes in a row against Shokeen to reach his half-century, but the spinner dismissed the RR opener on the penultimate delivery. The next hitter, Ravi Ashwin, provided a useful cameo by hitting three fours and one six before being caught behind in the last over.
Scores: Mumbai Indians 161/5 (Suryakumar Yadav 51, Tilak Varma 35; Ravichandran Ashwin 1-21) beat Rajasthan Royals 158/6 (Jos Buttler 67, Ravichandran Ashwin 21; Riley Meredith 2-24) by 5 wickets.
