David Miller's stellar performance leads Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings

The Gujarat Titans defeated the Chennai Super Kings in Match 29 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Sunday. Gujarat managed to record three goals against the defending champions Chennai.

In this match, the IPL debutant team played without the presence of their regular captain Hardik Pandya due to an injury. Thus, Rashid Khan took over to lead the Titans.

In addition to continuing their winning momentum in the IPL this season, the position of the Titans also rose in the IPL 2022 points table standings. Gujarat has colelcted 10 points from six matches so far. They recorded two more points than Lucknow Super Giants, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

“It's an amazing feeling in IPL, it's a dream come true to lead the team, and delivering that is something special. Just that we wanted to take the game deep. We were capable of chasing 90 runs in the last 7 overs, and that was the plan. We were trying to take the game as deep as possible,” said Khan after the match.

GT vs CSK

At first, this game seemed difficult for the Titans because there was a chase and they had lost momentum early into the game. Captain Khan, who won the toss, invited CSK captain Ravindra Jadeja to hit first.

The decision seemed quite right when the Gujarat bowler managed to clear Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ambati Rayudu then played aggressively with 92 crucial runs for the third goal. Rayudu recorded 31 46 balls. Gaikwad bounced back with an incredible 73 runs from 48 deliveries as CSK recorded a total of 169/5.

“I haven't batted in the first 5 games, that was the discussion, so I wanted to take the responsibility. We wanted two batters to score big, I just had a discussion with Miller and we tried to strike the ball hard. I needed to step up and take the responsibility, just wanted to back myself and that was the plan,” added Khan.

David Miller’s performance

David Miller played the role of an outstanding finisher for the Titans. When Gujarat lost goals regularly, it was at that moment that the mid-twin Miller and Khan counterattacked. They added 70 runs for the sixth wicket stand.

Miller hit 94 run-offs with 51 balls and the Titans lead the Indian Premier League with a three-wicket win over CSK with one ball to spare. Miller said he continued to fight for the Titans throughout the game. He has also worked hard to maintain his fitness.

“It does take me back to memory lane [referring to the innings he played for KXIP], it was sort of play my game, see ball hit ball, with the rate already quite high, I wanted to express myself. It came off tonight and pretty chuffed with the innings. Getting in with the position at 16/3 gives me an opportunity to shine, doesn’t happen too often but when the ball was new it helps,“ said the 32-year-old Miller.