IPL 2023 Match 23 between GT and RR ended with Rajasthan beating Gujarat. RR won the game with 3 wickets and 4 balls left after restricting GT to 177 for 7.
Gujarat Titans started the first inning shakily, losing to Saha for only 4 runs. However, Gill and Sudharsan provided stability until Buttler got a stunning run out on Sudharsan (20 off 19). Gill played a steady inning of 45 off 34 balls but got out before completing the half-century.
Hardik Pandya (28 off 19) also helped the team, but David Miller (46 off 30) helped GT post a score of 177. Throughout the inning, it seemed that GT would certainly cross 190 at the end. However, Samson managed to contain the opposition by constantly rotating the bowlers.
Pandya and Gill were at one stage mowing down Adam Zampa and Ravichandran Ashwin. Samson intervened quickly to stop the flow of runs by bringing in Chahal and Boult.
After putting on a commendable bowling performance, the GT openers also had to encounter a bowling onslaught as well. Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya opened the inning with an attacking mindset. Both bowlers posed severe issues, restricting RR to 26/2 in the powerplay.
It seemed like GT would secure its fourth back-to-back win against RR. However, it was the valiant efforts of Sanju Samson (60 off 32) and Shimron Hetmyer (56 off 26) that helped RR register their first win against GT.
As GT’s in-form captain Samson was among the top-picked players in fantasy cricket. However, not many fans expected Shimron Hetmyer to play such an inning. The few who chose the player as their captain on online cricket betting sites won big bucks due to the unexpected half-century.
After the game, Hetmyer talked about how it was a revenge game for RR. GT had beaten them three times in the previous IPL, so the team wanted to get their first win against them. This mentality, along with Samson’s bowling changes, helped RR in the late game. The win has brought RR to the top of the table with 8 points in 5 games and the best NRR of +1.354.
On the other hand, the loss has pushed GT to the third spot with 6 points in 5 games and an NRR of +0.192.
