Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], May 4 : Ahead of their side's Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Rajasthan Royals, David Miller and Rahul Tewatia, two of Gujarat Titans' finishers, reflected on how their off-the-field bond grew gradually and helped them on the field with their game.
Tewatia said that their bond started to build and get strong during their days as players for Rajasthan Royals (RR).
"David and I have known each other for a long time. Our bond was not created on the field, but rather off the field. When we were in the bubble during our time in Rajasthan Royals, I used to watch his batting in the nets. That is where our bond started to grow stronger. We stay in touch via messages when at home. We used to share our lives, talk about our families," said Tewatia in a video posted by Gujarat Titans.
Miller also said reflecting on his bond, "Rahul and I have come a long way. We used to play for three teams together. That is the joy of IPL, mixing up with people you would not have met otherwise. We have built a powerful bond. Off the field, we have got a connection and we click."
On how their off-the-field bond has helped their game, Tewatia said, "Our off-field bond helped us on the field. When we started batting together, we got our role as finishers, got our clarity and started to understand each other better. Understanding when to give him a chance, when to give myself one, we have that clarity."
"On the field, it kind of shows as we have had some cool partnerships. I love playing with him," added Miller about their friendship.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) will take on defending champions and table toppers Gujarat Titans (GT) at their home venue of Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday.
If they win, Rajasthan can dethrone Gujarat from the top of the points table. RR has 10 points with five wins and four losses and is in the fourth position in the points table. GT has 12 points with six wins and three losses. However, Rajasthan has a better net run rate.
In their last IPL 2023 match, RR won by three wickets in a close encounter.
For GT, Gill scored 45 off 34 balls and Miller smashed 46 runs in 30 balls while Abhinav Manohar played a quickfire knock of 27 runs in 17 balls. For RR, Sandeep Sharma bagged two while Trent Boult, Adam Zampa and Yuzvendra Chahal took a wicket each.
Chasing the target of 178, Sanju Samson's 60 off 32 balls and Shimron Hetmyer's 56* off 26 balls guided their team to win against the defending champions.
Meanwhile, RR and GT have faced each other four times, out of which Gujarat has won three and RR have won just one.
RR squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Jos Buttler, SV Samson(C), DC Jurel, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Sharma, R Parag, KM Asif, NA Saini, D Ferreira, Murugan Ashwin, JE Root, Kunal Singh Rathore, Abdul Basith, AP Vasisht, KC Cariappa, OC McCoy, KR Sen, Kuldip Yadav, A Zampa
GT squad: Shubman Gill, HH Pandya(C), A Manohar, DA Miller, Vijay Shankar, R Tewatia, Wriddhiman Saha(wk), Rashid Khan, M Shami, MM Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Kane Williamson, J Little, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Sai Sudharsan, KS Bharat, J Yadav, MS Wade, Urvil Patel, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Odean Smith, Shivam Mavi, DG Nalkande, PJ Sangwan, D Shanaka.
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