The Gujarat Titans are at top of the points table with five wins in six league matches of IPL 2022. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)
Gujarat Titans (GT), founded in 2021, emerged as the first team to qualify for the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs. In their 13th match of the ongoing IPL season, GT locked horns with 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 15 and registered a comfortable 34-run win to seal their playoff spot.
The team, led by Hardik Pandya, finished their league stage in style after defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by six wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, May 21. GT finished at the top of the IPL 2023 points table with 20 points from 14 matches.
Notably, in the two seasons that GT have featured so far, this is their second playoff qualification. Let us examine the Titans’ IPL journey so far as they gear up for another playoff:
IPL 2022 (First place)
Everyone was taken aback by the Gujarat Titans’ performances in their maiden season. They started their campaign in the 2022 edition with a win over fellow newcomers Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Gujarat finished the 2022 season with ten wins in their 14 group games and finished first on the points table with 20 points.
GT won in the first qualifier against Rajasthan Royals (RR), whom they met again in the final after Rajasthan’s Qualifier 2 win against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). In the summit clash, GT defeated the Sanju Samson-led side by a margin of seven wickets. With that win, Gujarat became the second team to win the IPL in their maiden season, after Rajasthan Royals (2008).