IPL 2022 Final, GT vs RR: Gujarat enjoys title success on debut; here's what the team players said
Gujarat Titans has won the IPL 2022, which happened to be its debut season. As it defeated Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets, here's what the team players had to say after the triumph.
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It is the attainment for new side Gujarat Titans (GT), as it has trumped former champion Rajasthan Royals (RR) to win the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) Final. Played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, GT got the job done by seven wickets, with 11 balls to spare, as Hardik Pandya led the side from the front, besides delivering across departments. As a result, GT has become only the second side after RR to win the title in its debut season, while it was also Pandya's title win on captaincy debut, besides winning his fifth title. In the meantime, here's what the GT players said after the success.
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Wriddhiman Saha: This is my fifth final and the second final that I have won. Someone said that our team was not good after the auctions, but we proved them wrong. The first ball he [Pandya] bowled was outstanding, everyone contributed, and it was a team performance.
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Mohammed Shami: We needed to start the tournament well and set up a template for the team. The idea was only to start well for the team and concentrate on the line and length. We (along with Saha) have known each other well for the last 20 years and have a good understanding.
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Matthew Wade: Just the team environment, which is a relaxing environment. Hardik and Rashid [Khan] 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 excellent. Hopefully, we can come back next year in front of these fans.
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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 [Shubman Gill] is the only guy we didn't want to bowl to, and I'm happy that he's part of our team. The most significant 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 hard work, which is undoubtedly a high point of my career.
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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. He's [Pandya] been very relaxed. We've had a good bond with Ashish and Hardik. He's got better and better as the competition goes on. Tactically he's been brilliant and just grown from strength to strength.
Lockie Ferguson: I couldn't be more rapped for the boys, finishing with a win. Very proud of the boys for the way they bowled. Hardik was superb, too. He led from the front.
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Shubman Gill: It means a lot. After winning the Under-19 World Cup, winning the IPL is as significant. 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 well to restrict them to 130. We wanted to keep them under 150, but fortunately, it was much lesser.
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Rahul Tewatia: There was a relaxed atmosphere during Qualifier 1. We knew we were playing well this season. The plan was to take it deep and for the finishers to finish. I don't know about the party at the beginning of the seas. Someone asked me what my goals were. I told them there were no personal goals, but it would be great if we could win. It was a new team, a new environment and don't know about the party tonight, but I won't be sleeping. After the auctions, there were saying our team had batters short, experienced batters short, but the way the management backed David and me was good. The captain trusts me and tells me to trust my game and keep finishing as I do.
Gary Kirsten: It's fantastic. Really happy for the guys. They've put a lot into the tournament. Great for Ashish (Nehra) and Vikram [Solanki] as well. You're looking for good balance and good depth in the auction, but most importantly, you're looking for players who can play different roles, the one thing we've learnt with Ashish is finding versatile guys, and at four, five and six- we've got that.
