Gujarat Titans won the 15th Indian Premier League on their debut on Sunday night, beating Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural winners of the cash-rich cricket T20 league.
However, their win immediately has become the subject of intense scepticism and sniggering on social media where fans and haters saw parallels with politics and fixing. Too much of a coincidence, they said.


Hardik Pandya has won the IPL five times, but this was his first as captain, and with debutants Gujarat Titans.
A newly constructed bunch under the raw captaincy of Hardik Pandya beat the Sanju Samson-led experienced opposition at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the Titans winning by seven wickets and 11 balls to spare as they chased down the 131-run target.
Pandya claimed three crucial wickets, including that of the tournament’s leading scorer Jos Buttler, to restrict Rajasthan to the modest total. It also proved Pandya has fully recovered from a back injury that had forced him to play purely as a batter over the last two seasons.
Pandya has now been on the winning side for five times in the history of IPL. “Obviously this will be a little special because I have won it as a captain,” said Pandya, who won four IPL titles with Mumbai Indians before taking up the leadership role at Gujarat.
“I consider myself very lucky that I have played five finals, and have lifted the trophy five times.”
Former players including ex-India captain Sunil Gavaskar have praised Pandya’s composed and deft leadership, which they believe was crucial to Gujarat’s victory.
Yet, the tongues got wagging on social media. The #fixing started to trend on Twitter. Sample these:
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