IPL 2022: Harbhajan Singh on Rajasthan Royals' loss to Gujarat Titans in 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."

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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.

"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.