'As big as winning a World Cup': Shubman Gill reacts after Gujarat Titans lift IPL 2022 trophy - WATCH

Gujarat Titans (GT) created history on Sunday (May 29) as they defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 7 wickets in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Sunday (May 29) to win their maiden title in their debut season. Gujarat Titans chased down the target of 131 runs comfortably with 11 balls to spare to become only the second team after RR to win the elusive trophy in their debut season. RR had won their first IPL title in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008.

It was a lop-sided final with Gujarat Titans dominating the proceedings right from the start of the game. Skipper Hardik Pandya delivered a brilliant performance with the ball as he bagged a three-wicket haul to help GT restrict RR to a low-key total of 130/9 in 20 overs.

Opener Shubman Gill then slammed an unbeaten 45 while Pandya and David Miller played crucial knocks of 34 and 32 runs respectively to take GT over the line comfortably in the run chase. It was a comprehensive win from the Titans, who were also the most consistent teams throughout the league stage of the tournament.

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Gill, who won his maiden IPL title with the Titans, was elated after the memorable triumph and compared it to a World Cup win. The former India U-19 star, who was part of the Prithvi Shaw-led India U-19 team which won the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2018, said winning an IPL trophy was equivalent to winning a World Cup.

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"Obviously, it (title win) means a lot. After winning the U-19 World Cup, I think winning an IPL is as big as winning a World Cup," Gill said speaking to Harsha Bhogle after the final.

"This is my fifth year and I am fortunate enough to win the IPL this time. I wanted to be there till the end, and that’s what the talk was about with the coaches, and I am glad that we came over the line. Our bowlers bowled really well to restrict them to 130. We initially thought that if we could get them under 150, it would be a good target for us to chase down, but fortunately it was even less than 150 and we did the job for the team," he added.

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Gill was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad last year and was released by the franchise ahead of IPL 2022. Gill had joined KKR in 2018 and spent four seasons with the franchise failing to win his maiden trophy. He was slotted in as an opener at GT and went on to play an instrumental role in their maiden title triumph this year.

Gill was consistent throughout the tournament and managed to step up when his team required. He finished the tournament with 483 runs in 16 matches at an average of over 34.50 and a strike rate of over 132. He was the second-highest run-getter for GT behind skipper Hardik this season.