Qualifier 1 of the 2022 IPL stood up to the reputation of a playoff match as both teams were in the game till the last over of the match. However, David Miller played his best IPL knock in ages to seal the game for the Gujarat Titans. The Rajasthan Royals will get another shot at reaching their first final since the inaugural edition of the IPL when on Friday, they will meet the winner of the Eliminator. We look at the crucial moments that shaped the first playoff game of this season.
Buttler’s chancy knock
Despite leading the run-scoring charts by a big margin, Jos Buttler has had an indifferent IPL season. He has gone through two extreme phases this year. In the first seven matches, Buttler scored 491 runs at a strike rate of 161.5, averaging 81.8, including three centuries. In the next seven matches, he could score just 138 runs at a strike rate of 111.3 at 19.7 runs per innings.
His knock against the Titans in the Qualifier 1 saw both of his phases come to light in a single inning. In the first 38 balls of his inning, Buttler scored just 39 runs with four 4s. Two balls later, he was given a chance, when Hardik Pandya slipped on his way to catch Buttler’s aerial shot at long-off, and that changed Buttler’s fortunes.
Buttler’s last 50 runs came off just 18 balls, striking at 277.78, including eight 4s and two 6s. The Rajasthan Royals would be hoping that Buttler takes his changed fortune into Qualifier 2, where they’ll be looking to put this setback behind them and advance to the Final to settle the score with the Gujarat Titans.
Rashid Khan’s extraordinary spell
Rashid Khan once again proved why he is one of the T20 superstars of this generation and possibly the greatest bowler in this format. When he was introduced into the attack after the Powerplay, the Royals were going at 9.16 runs per over, with Sanju Samson scoring at a strike rate of 230.77. Rashid then did what he does best – choke the scoring rate of the opposition.
In his four-over spell, Rashid might not have taken a wicket, but he sucked the momentum out of the Royals’ innings. He ended up giving just 15 runs from his spell at 3.75 RPO and not a single boundary was scored off his bowling. Despite being well set, Buttler was one batter who struggled the most against him, managing to score just seven singles off the 11 balls that he faced off Rashid. Looking at Rashid’s record in playoffs, the Titans would hope for a similar performance from their gun bowler on Sunday.
Ashwin and Chahal’s ineffectiveness
In a 9.4 RPO game where Rashid Khan conceded just 3.75 RPO, Rajasthan Royals would have felt confident in defending their total as they boasted the best spin-bowling duo in the tournament. However, a rare off-day couldn’t have come on a worse day for the spin stalwarts, Ashwin and Chahal, as they collectively conceded 9.0 runs per over.
Ashwin didn’t look at his comfortable best, erring on bowling quicker than his usual speeds. After a disastrous start, where Gill took him for 17 runs off his first over, Ashwin made a good comeback in his next two overs, before ending his spell with a 14-run over.
Chahal was bowling good for a major part of his spell, especially against David Miller, who was kept quiet by bowling wide lines on a good length to prevent him from getting under the ball and hitting it straight or near the cow corner. However, as soon as Chahal missed his length, he was severely punished by Miller. Both the spinners would like to consider this as an aberration and turn up with fresh ideas on Friday against the winner of the Eliminator.