"They could have done a lot of things differently" - Harbhajan Singh on Rajasthan Royals' loss to Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022 final

Harbhajan Singh reckons Rajasthan Royals (RR) could have done a lot of things differently in the IPL 2022 final against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

The Royals managed a below-par score of 130-9 after winning the toss and opting to bat first. Hardik Pandya's side then chased down the target with seven wickets and almost two overs to spare.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Harbhajan Singh was asked if Rajasthan Royals could have done anything different in the title decider. He responded:

"They could have done a lot of things differently. Firstly, I felt they should have chased, but they chose to bat first, and then they played some shots, which they will think should not have been played; they should have played according to the situation."

The former India off-spinner highlighted the Royals' dependency on Jos Buttler in the batting department. He elaborated:

"They should have strung partnerships; 160 runs are enough in a final. They did not bat well. This team's players were overly dependent on Jos Buttler, and that is what happened; they got exposed when Jos Buttler didn't fire."

Buttler, who won the IPL 2022 Orange Cap, was dismissed for 39 in the final. None of the other RR batters could even cross the 25-run mark, with Butler's fellow opener Yashasvi Jaiswal's 22 being the second-highest score.

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"70-75% job was done by Yuzi Chahal in the bowling" - Harbhajan Singh on Rajasthan Royals' over-reliance on a few players

Yuzvendra Chahal won the Purple Cap this season [P/C: iplt20.com]

Harbhajan Singh added that Rajasthan Royals were too dependent on Yuzvendra Chahal in the bowling department. He explained:

"When they look back, Jos Buttler did 80% of the job in the batting, and similarly 70-75% job was done by Yuzi Chahal in the bowling, so the others did 20-25% only in total; that's not enough."

While lauding Sanju Samson's side for reaching the final, the cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by observing that the better team won on the day. Harbhajan Singh said:

"I think they could have played much better. Yes, they played the final, played very well to reach here, but I think Gujarat was the better team, and that's the reason they were at the top."

While Buttler amassed 863 runs for Rajasthan Royals, Samson was a distant second with 458 runs. Chahal, with 27 scalps, was RR's star performer with the ball, although he did get decent support from the other bowlers.