IPL 2022: 3 Gujarat Titans players who were successful and 2 who flopped this season
The Gujarat Titans (GT) scripted history after beating Rajasthan Royals (RR) by seven wickets to win the coveted IPL trophy on Sunday. They became the first franchise after the inaugural edition to lift the title in their very first year in the competition.
The Titans, who dominated the tournament from the word go, did not have many believers in the lead-up to the cash-rich tournament. The debutants, however, punched above their weight and functioned like a well-oiled unit.
They began their season by being the most in-form team in the competition, winning eight of their first nine fixtures. However, they saw a small dip in their last five league games where they lost three and won only two.
Having finished as table-toppers in the league stage, Gujarat faced Rajasthan in Qualifier 1 in Kolkata. The Hardik Pandya-led unit overcame the RR threat and became the first team to seal a berth in the finals. They once again beat the Royals in the finals to become only the third IPL franchise to have won an IPL title after finishing first in the league stage.
The main highlight of GT's triumphant season was how a range of individuals put their hands up in different situations for them. However, not all players had a prosperous campaign with their performances for GT. While some players took the onus to deliver for the Titans, a few couldn't contribute to the side's historic title run.
On that note, let's take a look at three GT players who were successful and a couple of players who flopped during IPL 2022.
#5. Hit - Mohammad Shami
Perhaps one of the best all-format pacers going at the moment, Mohammad Shami enjoyed his joint-best IPL campaign in his debut season with the Titans.
The Bengal-born speedster set the tone for GT right from the very first ball as he dismissed KL Rahul for a golden duck in the first match. Shami came full circle by shackling the stumps of Riyan Parag on GT's ultimate delivery of the season. In between those two deliveries, The right-armer took 20 wickets in total at an economy of 8.
With 11 scalps in the powerplay this year (joint-most by a bowler), Shami's contributions with the new ball always led the way for GT.
#4. Flop - Vijay Shankar
Four, 13, 2 and 0 - those were the scores of Vijay Shankar while batting at No. 3 for Gujarat this season. The Tamil Nadu-born all-rounder was horrendously out of form in IPL 2022 after GT picked him up for ₹1.40 crore at the mega auction.
After scoring 19 runs in four games, Shankar's average and strike rate read a mere 4.75 and 54, respectively. He scored 13 runs in a game against the Delhi Capitals (DC), which meant he amassed just six runs in three other games. Though his side won the season in the end, Shankar is surely not one of the reasons for the team's success.