IPL 2023: In Pink City, Titans red-hot

Synopsis: The guileful spin of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad sink Royals, but the mess was partly of their own making too, as Titans consolidate top spot.
So ruthless and emphatic were Gujarat Titans that the prospect of a low-scoring thriller never reared its head. The contest was effectively over when the spin-allies of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad stung devastatingly to knock out Rajasthan Royals for a meagre 118. The top-order then shot the target down in 13.5 overs with the loss of just Shubman Gill.
An Afghan spin
It’s not only Rashid, the leg-spin bowling dervish in T20s, that batsmen have to contend with when dueling Titans. An 18-year-old left-arm wr spinner from Herat, Noor Ahmad, too is proving to be an ordeal to negotiate, let alone nullify. Together, the spin duet from Afghanan churned out devilish notes to drown Royals batsmen. The combined figures of 7-0-39-5 tell a story in itself.

That was some performance @gujarat_titans 🙌#GT win the match 9 wickets and add another 2 points to their tally 👌
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/54xkkylMlx#TATAIPL | #RRvGT pic.twitter.com/fJKu9gmvLW
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2023
It’s the wispy Khan’s seventh season in the league, his craft might have been dissected a thousand times, analysts might have created the “100 ways to deal with Rashid Khan” dossier. Yet, he befuddles batsmen, yet he defines games. So much so that the whispers of his demystification, which gathered wind at the start of the season, seems as silly as it is preposterous.
In plain-sight, nothing much has changed about Khan. He burst forth with a plethora of variations, so many change-ups that there was little space for his own inventions. He makes no pretense either, no pre-series trash talk of a cryptic, mystery ball; or over-dwelling on his craft. But he has added subtle layers to his bowling. For instance, he bowls his googlies quicker these days. Rather, he could bowl his googlies quicker too. With the same action as a googly, he could slide the ball straight on, as the Ravichandran Ashwin clean-bowled shows.
The ball that flummoxed Ashwin could have been a surface-aided natural variation — the grip and release suggested a googly — but it could have been intentional too, as the ball slithered straight on after pitching. Only Khan could delve into the finer details. But Ashwin was genuinely petrified, and walked back with the numbed expression of someone who had spotted a ghost.
There was a mini set-up too to trap the master of set-ups himself. Khan began with a leg-break, on good length and fifth-stump line, that kinked away to beat Ashwin. Next came a googly, fuller and on the sixth stump. Both times, Ashwin was beaten crop and neck. But Ashwin might have sensed the set-up. Surely, he was expecting a googly on stumps. It was on stumps alright, but it did not spit pad-ward.

T. I. M. B. E. R! @rashidkhan_19 joins the wicket-taking party for @gujarat_titans! 👍 👍
R Ashwin gets out.
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/tilu6n2vD3#TATAIPL | #RRvGT pic.twitter.com/rW7PvigjL0
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2023
The purpose to send Ashwin after a self-inflicted crisis — soft shots to get out for Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson, and a hideous run out of Yashasvi Jaiswal had Royals reeling at 60 for 3 — was to shield Shimron Hetmyer from Khan. But it not only backfired but also sprinkled panic among Royals batsmen. Khan would add the wickets of Riyan Parag and Hetmyer to his swelling wickets tally, the former with a ripping googly and the latter with a leg-break. Hetmyer was the last lingering shard of hope. His dismissal, as the eighth batsman with the total score on 96, precipitated a quick and sorry end for Royals. A total of 118 would turn out to be horribly insufficient.
Between the exits of Parag, the Impact Player, and Hetmyer, Ahmad displayed his wares. He struck with his third ball of the evening, making one skid on to blast the stumps of Devdutt Padikkal, who was expecting a googly and hence playing inside the line of the ball. The next over, he dislodged a nervous Dhruv Jurel with his wrong’un, one that pitched on leg-stump and broke away to the line of middle-stump to strike his pads.

Another one bites the dust!
Noor Ahmad with his first wicket of the match 👌 👌
Devdutt Padikkal departs.
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/tilu6n2vD3#TATAIPL | #RRvGT | @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/G9t0v1CtQw
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2023
The youngster, who idolizes Khan, has eye-catching variations — the stock ball that breaks in, the googly that spits, and the flipper that fizzes. A dose or two of Khan-like precision could make him a more dreaded bowler. Already the l of his victims — among them Suryakumar Yadav, Nicholas Pooran and Cameron Green — make for a satisfactory read. It could only get longer, and together with Khan could make a formidable pair for both club and country.
Self-inflicted mess
As crafty as Khan and Ahmad were, it was a mess partly of Royals’s own making. The top-order sunk mindlessly. Buttler, not in fifth gear, wafted loosely outside the off-stump to manufacture an easy catch for the short third man. There was no real purpose or power into the stroke. He did not look to ride the bounce; he did not go full-throttle either. This was the old Test-match version of Buttler, where he was fixated with half-hearted, half-baked shots.

RUN-OUT!
A good fielding effort & a mix-up between batters! #RR lose Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/tilu6n2vD3 #TATAIPL | #RRvGT pic.twitter.com/Ntuw3LupMD
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2023
But his exit hardly seemed to bother the Royals. Both Samson and Jaiswal found boundaries with glorious shot-making. But the 36-run stand ended in the sloppiest manner. Samson acknowledged Jaiswal’s invitation for a single after the former had steered the ball to backward point. But then a ball-watching Samson stopped and send Jaiswal, who was beside him, back. Jaiswal made a belated and futile dash.
Still, Samson seemed unperturbed. He smashed Josh Little for a four through mid-on before he shuffled across and looked to work the left-handed bowler through the leg-side. The ball, that shaped a fraction away and thus making the shot difficult, stopped and took a leading edge to cover. Samson shut his eyes in angst, and he would have averted his gaze from the chaos that unfolded soon after.