INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Gujarat Titans celebrated ending Rajasthan Royals& IPL four-match winning streak in a nail-biting thriller to win by three wickets on
Wednesday.While Rajasthan cling on to their table-topping position above Kolkata Knight Riders, the Titans clawed their way back to a
dramatic victory in the final five overs, needing 73 off the final 30 balls, AFP reported.The pressure fell on the shoulders of bowling
all-rounder Rashid Khan from Afghanistan to win the match on the final ball — thumping it to the boundary for four to end on top with
199-7.&You just have to be positive,& Rashid said
&The more positive you are thinking inside, the better the result comes out.&Asked where the Royals had lost, skipper Sanju Samson laughed
and said &the last ball of the game&, adding it was &very hard& to speak after the defeat.But he still handed out praise for the Titans&
play.&You have to give credit to the Gujarat Titans, to the way they batted, bowled and fielded,& Samson said.Rajasthan had looked confident
going into the game, after being invited to bat first at their home ground of Jaipur.‘We had belief&
After initial wobbles, with Yashasvi
Jaiswal caught on 24, and England&s Jos Buttler going for eight, 22-year-old Riyan Parag helped build a daunting total.He celebrated his
third fifty in five innings, this time in a knock off 34 balls.Parag fell for 74 to a juggled but successful catch by Vijay Shankar.But
Samson, who made 68, and Shimron Hetmyer, unbeaten on 13, guided Rajasthan to 196-3 — keeping their hopes that they were heading for their
fifth straight victory alive.As Gujarat came into bat, the Royals seemed to have taken charge, with the chase crumbling as speedster Kuldeep
Sen ripped through the Titans& top order, posting figures of 3-41.Sen trapped Sai Sudharsan lbw for 35 before bowling Matthew Wade and
Abhinav Manohar cheaply.&We lost a few wickets back-to-back&, said Gujarat&s Sudharsan
&But we had belief and we won the game.&Skipper Shubman Gill made 72 to push Gujarat&s total up before being stumped, while Rahul Tewatia
made 22 before he was run out.But it was Rashid who brought the Titans across the winning threshold, making 24 in the frantic final balls,
AFP reported.&This victory was much-needed for us and gives us momentum,& Sudharsan added
&Hopefully we play a few more good games and have a good season.&The post Gujarat end Rajasthan&s winning streak with IPL thriller first
