The 2022 season of the Indian Premier League turned out to be a spectacular experience for fans. Two newly formed teams — the Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants — were added to the league, which gave opportunity to many more players to show their talent and potential.

Both the new teams made it to the playoffs and to everyone's surprise, it was the Titans who ended up claiming the title right in their first season. It was also Hardik Pandya's maiden season in the IPL as captain and the result couldn't have been better for him. He played a pivotal role with both bat and ball, finishing as his team's highest run-scorer and also claiming eight wickets.

The teams played a total of 16 matches each in the league stage. This was followed by the playoffs where the top four teams participated, and the final where Rajasthan Royals lost to the Titans.

Points Table After the League Stage of IPL 2022

Leading Run-Scorers of IPL 2022

Rajasthan Royals' opener Jos Buttler finished as the highest run-getter in IPL 2022, winning the Orange Cap in the process. Buttler amassed 863 runs over the course of 17 matches, at a superb average of 57.53 and strike-rate of 149.05. That includes four centuries and an equal number of fifties.

KL Rahul finished second on the list of highest run-scorers, scoring 616 runs at 51.33. He also scored two centuries and smashed four fifties as well. Quinton de Kock, Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill ended up as the third, fourth and fifth highest scorers with 508, 487 and 483 runs to their names respectively. 

Leading Wicket-takers of IPL 2022

Yuzvendra Chahal, Rajasthan Royals' lead spinner, finished at the top of the wicket-taking charts with 27 wickets to his name at an average of 19.51. That helped him win the Purple Cap as well.

Wanindu Hasaranga missed it by inches as he finished with 26 wickets at an even better average of 16.53. Kagiso Rabada, Umran Malik and Kuldeep Yadav finished as the third, fourth and fifth highest wicket-takers, with 23, 2 and 21 wickets to their names respectively. 

How Things Went In The Playoffs of IPL 2022

Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans faced off in Qualiifier 1. Although the Royals turned up with a superb batting performance, led by Buttler's 56-ball 89, where they scored 188/6, the Titans came up with a spirited performance to pull off the chase. Shubman Gill set the ball rolling with a 21-ball 35, but it was David Miller's 38-ball 68 and skipper Pandya's 27-ball 40 that really saw them through to the final.

After the first qualifier, it was time for the Eliminator, where RCB took on Lucknow Super Giants. This high-pressure game saw the rise of a new star as Rajat Patidar scored his maiden IPL century, smashing an unbeaten 112 from just 54 balls to propel RCB to a massive total of 207/4. Dinesh Karthik also played his part towards the end, remaining unbeaten on 37 from 23 deliveries. 

As a response, the Super Giants chased down the target. Skipper Rahul played an impressive knock of 79 from 58 deliveries, but it was probably too slow for what the chase required. Deepak Hooda's 26-ball 45 was a pretty good knock as well, but it wasn't enough to see them through again. The Super Giants managed only 193/6 in their 20 overs and were eliminated. 

Things heated up in the second qualifier as RCB faced off against Rajasthan Royals. Rajat Patidar starred again, scoring 58 from 42 deliveries. It proved to be a pivotal innings once again as it propelled RCB to a competitive total of 157/6. But it didn't turn out to be enough as in-form Jos Buttler smashed an unbeaten 100 from just 60 deliveries to help RR chase it down and clear their path to the Final.

Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals: The Grand Finale

Two young Indian captains — Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson — locked horns in the final of IPL 2022, with both harboring dreams of claiming the IPL title. The Royals won the toss and elected to bat on that night in Ahmedabad, but the decision didn't prove to be fruitful for them as Pandya destroyed their top-order with his new ball spell, claiming the big wickets of Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson. He returned later on to dismiss Shimron Hetmyer as well, thus stopping RR from accelerating later on in their innings as well.

The Royals managed a total of only 130/9 in the end, which was chased down pretty easily by the Titans with seven wickets and 11 balls to spare. Gill and Miller remained unbeaten at 45 and 32 respectively, whereas Pandya also made a valuable contribution of 34. Pandya was adjudged Player of the Match as well for his all-round brilliance. 

What's In Store For IPL 2023?

IPL 2023 promises to be another riveting season, where 10 teams will be locking horns once again. The squads have undergone significant changes after the mega auction and that's why we could see another champion this year. The biggest threat to Gujarat Titans' title defence would be Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have assembled a formidable squad this year. But other teams like Lucknow Super Giants, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore also stand an equally good chance of claiming the title.