Hello and welcome to Sportstar's HIGHLIGHTS of the IPL 2022 final between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans from the Narendra Modi International Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Shubman Gill: It [winning the IPL title] means a lot. After winning the under-19 World Cup, winning the IPL is just as big. It is my fourth year. I wanted to be there till the end and that was the talk with the coaches. I am glad I took them over the line. Our bowlers bowled really well to restrict them [Rajasthan Royals] to 130. We wanted to keep them under 150 but fortunately it was much lesser.
GUJARAT TITANS BEAT RAJASTHAN ROYALS BY SEVEN WICKETS
PLAYER OF THE MATCH - HARDIK PANDYA (3/17) & (34/30)
Gujarat Titans' dream IPL debut comes sees a fairtytale culmination. A clinical all-round show with the ball first and then with the bat, and with captain Hardik Pandya leading from the front with three for 17 and 34 runs in the final. Many may have written Gujarat off after the auction - and they might have looked thin on paper at the outset - but they found different match winners throughout the season to end table top at the end of the league stage and then go on to completely dominate Rajasthan Royals in both playoffs.
GUJARAT TITANS 133/3 IN 18.1 OVERS
GT 133/3 in 18.1 overs: McCoy with the ball. SIX! Pulled away over fine-leg by six by Shubman Gill and Gujarat Titans have done it in their maiden season. Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets with 11 balls to spare.
GT 127/3 in 18 overs: Ashwin with the ball. Gill reverse-sweeps but straight to point. Single at mid-wicket next ball. Turning into Miller, he backs away a bit outside leg for a single at deep point. Quicker and turning into Gill. Dot ball. Gill cuts this one to deep point. One hit away. Miller goes for a big one but only manages an inside edge that runs past the keeper for a single.
GT 122/3 in 17 overs: Prasidh with the ball. Angling into Miller and he defends it back to the bowler. Miller cuts behind point for a couple; good work by McCoy in the deep. Beaten! Angling away outside off on a length and Miller misses the cut behind point this time. FOUR! Top edge on the pull and this goes to the boundary behind the keeper. Slower bouncer, Miller leans back and lets it go. Wide called for height. FOUR! Cut away to the third man fence for a boundary. More like an outside edge in hindsight but four runs nevertheless. Flicked off the pads for one more.
GT 109/3 in 16 overs: Turning into the pads by Ashwin and Gill taps this on leg side and in the gap and runs a couple. Pushed off the backfoot for a single at mid-wicket. 100 runs up for GT in 15.2 overs. SIX! Tossed up and straight and Miller launches this over wide long-on for a maximum. Three singles to end the over.
GT 97/3 in 15 overs: McCoy returns. Miller pushes this slower one to mid-on for one. Thick outside edge to third man and Gill takes one. Short of a length outside off and Miller gets on his toes to drive this to mid-off. FOUR! Too full outside off and Miller drives this between the gap at mid-off and cover for a boundary. Slow and short and dabbed to short third for one more. Full and straight and driven to long-on for another single. He keeps strike.
GT 89/3 in 14 overs: Chahal bowls out. Hardik gets low and gently turns this down leg side for two. OUT! Hardik edges this to slip and Chahal gets the Purple Cap back. Legbreak takes Hardik's outside edge and a sharp take by Jaiswal in the cordon. Hardik Pandya c Yashasvi Jaiswal b Yuzvendra Chahal 34(30 3x4 1x6). Miller comes in. Dot and couple to start with. Single to end the over. Chahal ends with 4-0-20-1.
GT 84/2 in 13 overs: Boult with the ball. Hardik continues to cut the ball well through the off side. Collect a couple and single off the first two. Boult goes full outside off and Gill drives through the covers off the front foot for one more. Length ball angling in and Gill is beaten trying to tuck it off his hips. One leg-bye. Slow and short and Hardik drag-pulls to long-on for one more. Going on the pads with the angle and Gill flicks this straight to short fine-leg.
GT 77/2 in 12 overs: Here comes Ashwin. Tossed up around middle and off and Hardik gets forward to push for a single at long-off. One more for Gill with a flick to mid-wicket. FOUR! Hardik cuts this fine close to the stumps for a boundary at third man. SIX! Tossed up outside leg and Hardik clears his front leg and launches this over long-on. 50 partnership up off 45 balls. Single and a couple to end the over.
GT 62/2 in 11 overs: Gills pulls flat over mid-wicket and falls just short of Hetmyer for a couple. McCoy keeps it back of a length. FOUR! Slightly fuller outside off and driven away through covers for a boundary. Slow, back of length, Hardik tries to run it to third man after making room but misses. Driven back to McCoy, and it goes off the bowler for a single.
GT 54/2 in 10 overs: Chahal into his third over. Two singles to start with. 50 up for GT in 9.2 overs. Hardik and Gill nudging Chahal around for singles. The plan seems to be to play him out. Gill laps this to fine-leg for a couple. Pushed off the backfoot for a single.
GT 48/2 in 9 overs: Prasidh into his third over. Gill thumps it to long-on for a single. Hardik swings and misses outside off. FOUR! Full outside off and this is punished by Hardik with a whip to the long-off boundary. Beaten! Prasidh drags his length back outside off and Hardik is beaten on the cut. Length ball angling into Hardik and he pushes this off the backfoot for one. FOUR! Inside edge, beats Samson and runs away to the boundary.
GT 38/2 in 8 overs: Chahal continues. Tossed up and Gill presses forward to defend. Cut off the backfoot straight to cover. Two dot balls to start with. A misfield at mid-on gives Gill a single. Another misfield, this time at extra cover by Ashwin, and another single. Gill goes aerial over covers and Hetmyer cannot reach to it running towards the boundary. Dot to end the over.
GT 35/2 in 7 overs: McCoy comes after the PowerPlay. Short, going across Hardik, and he is beaten trying to ramp it. Width outside off and Hardik cuts it to deep point for one. On a length and Gill defends off the backfoot. Gill pulls this short one to deep mid-wicket for one. Hardik pushes this to mid-off and hares for one more. Slower one and Gill clips it off the pads for a single off the last ball of the over and retains strike.
GT 31/2 in 6 overs: Chahal into the attack. Tossed up on the pads and Gill turns it away to square leg. Length ball turning into the pads and beats Gill's bat to thud into the front pad. Single next ball to long-on. Straight on a length and Hardik defends solidly from the crease. Whipped off the pads for one more. FOUR! Tossed up, Gill sweeps this to the square leg boundary.
GT 25/2 in 5 overs: Gill cuts this to deep backward point for one. Beaten! Shortish outside off and Wade is beaten with extra bounce trying to slap this over covers. OUT! Wade whips this off the pads and Parag jumps to take this at mid-wicket. Matthew Wade c Riyan Parag b Trent Boult 8(10b 1x6). Fullish angling outside off and Hardik lets it go. Flicked off the pads to mid-wicket for another dot ball. Short and Hardik jumps to defend it with a straight bat. Going down leg side and wide ball called. Cut hard by Hardik outside off but finds the fielder at cover. Three runs and a wicket from the over.
GT 22/1 in 4 overs: FIVE-WIDES! Prasidh comes around the wicket and goes wide down leg side and runs away past the keeper for five extras. Sharp movement off the pitch and comes into Wade from short of a length and Wade hops to somehow fend this off. A couple of dot balls to follow. Prasidh continues to dig it short to keep Wade on his toes. SIX! Back of a length, straight, and Wade pulls it over fine-leg for a maximum. Two dots to end the over. Wade punches one straight to cover and then flicks to mid-wicket.
GT 11/2 in 3 overs: Length ball on off stump and Saha hangs back and defends on the off. Carved straight to point next ball. Full on off stump and Gill gets an inside edge onto his boot. Straighter on a length and defended back to the bowler. Beaten! More bounce, seaming away from a length and beats Gill's attempted cut. Driven back to the bowler. Maiden over!
GT 11/1 in 2 overs: Beaten! Length ball, extra bounce and Saha is beaten trying to steer it behind. FOUR! Short and pulled away by Saha to the mid-wicket fence. Saha gets on top of the bounce and slaps straight to cover. OUT! Sharp movement inwards off a length and Saha is cleaned up. Middle stump is flattened. What a delivery! Wriddhiman Saha b Prasidh Krishna 5(7b 1x4). Wade comes in and starts off with a couple behind point. Six runs from the over and a wicket.
GT 5/0 in 1 over: Out come Saha and Gill. Trent Boult to take the new ball. Length ball on leg and Saha hops and tucks it away on leg-side. Dot ball. Short of a length and cut straight to point. Two dot balls to start with. Pushed to cover and a brilliant stop by Jaiswal; just a single. Dropped! Gill flicks this straight to square leg and Chahal leaps in front and drops it. FOUR! Strays on the pads and this is whipped away to the fine-leg boundary for a boundary by Gill.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS 130/9 IN 20 OVERS
RR 130/9 in 20 overs: Shami darts a full toss but Parag cannot get it away. Dot to start the last over. Full on the pads and Parag squeezes it behind square for a couple and makes it as the throw goes wide at the non-striker's end. FOUR! Parag makes room outside off and cuts this over point for a boundary. Smashed down the ground back to Shami, it ricochets off the bowler and goes to long-off. They come back for the second but McCoy is short of his crease. OUT! Obed McCoy run out (Rahul Tewatia/ Mohammed Shami) 8(5b 1x6). Slower one and it is a dot. OUT! Bowled him. The yorker uproots Parag's off stump. Riyan Parag b Mohammed Shami 15(15b 1x4).
RR 123/7 in 19 overs: Yorker outside off and dug out by Parag for one. Dayal with the bowl. McCoy goes for a big one on leg-side but edges it to third man for a single. Another accurate yorker angling across outside off. Parag jams it into the ground. Parag steps out and drills this to extra cover for one. McCoy pulls to fine-leg for another single.
RR 120/7 in 18 overs: Kishore continues. Boult makes room and lifts this over extra cover for a couple. SIX! Miscued heave, Miller takes it at long-on but then steps over the boundary cushion. OUT! And gone! Boult goes aerial again but this time finds deep extra cover. Trent Boult c Rahul Tewatia b Sai Kishore 11(7b 1x6). McCoy punches between cover and point for a single. Parag collects one more with a drive to long-on. SIX! Swept by McCoy over deep square leg for a flat maximum.
RR 104/6 in 17 overs: Ferguson returns. The first one is full on the pads and flicked away for a single. Single down the ground by Boult and 100 runs up in 16.2 overs. Two more singles to follow. Whipped off the pads again for a single at deep mid-wicket by Parag. Boult muscles this to mid-on for just one.
RR 98/6 in 16 overs: Kishore into the attack. He keeps it slow and just two singles off the first two. One more next ball. Pushed off the pads by Parag for one more. OUT! Kishore gets Ashwin. He steps out and to clear the straight boundary but find the fielder at long-on. Ravichandran Ashwin c David Miller b R Sai Kishore 6(9b). Boult comes in. Dot to end.
RR 94/5 in 15 overs: Hardik bowls out. Length dragged by Hetmyer to long-on for a single. Ashwin pulls to fine-leg for one more. FOUR! Finally a boundary. Hetmyer makes room outside off and lifts this over mid-off for a boundary. Hetmyer makes room again but fails to connect the ramp shot. FOUR! Fullish outside off and steered by Hetmyer to the third man boundary. OUT! Hetmyer looks to flick this on leg side but ends up handing a catch back to the bowler. Shimron Hetmyer c & b Hardik Pandya 11(12b 2x4). Hardik ends up 4-0-17-3, the best figures by an Indian pacer in an IPL final.
RR 84/4 in 14 overs: Rashid bowls out. Beats Ashwin's outside edge first ball with the legbreak. Full on the pads and whipped away to long-on for a single. Hetmyer defends this back to the bowler with a straight bat. Ripper and beaten! Spin away and beats Hetmyer's defensive bat. Hetmyer takes a big stride to counter the turn and flicks it for a single at mid-wicket. Rashid ends with 4-0-18-1.
RR 82/4 in 13 overs: Hardik into his third over. OUT! Buttler goes and the captain takes the big wicket. Length ball and Buttler gets a faint outside edge to the keeper as he goes prodding outside off. Jos Buttler c Wriddhiman Saha b Hardik Pandya 39(35b 5x4). Ashwin comes in and starts off by defending to mid-off. Short of a length, angling into Ashwin and pushed off the backfoot for a single at mid-on. Vicious bouncer and Hetmyer ducks under it. Miscued pull next ball and just a single at square leg for Hetmyer. Another length ball angling into Ashwin and dabbed to short third for one. Sensational spell for Hardik - 3-0-7-2 so sar.
RR 79/3 in 12 overs: Rashid back. Spinning away outside off and Padikkal only manages a single after miscuing a pull to long-on. One more for Buttler next ball. Cut away by Padikkal for one more at sweeper cover. Low full toss and pushed to long-on for another single. OUT! Padikkal is gone! Cut this straight to short third. Devdutt Padikkal c Mohammed Shami b Rashid Khan 2(10b). Another googly turning away outside off and Hetmyer misses.
RR 75/2 in 11 overs: Hardik will continue. Length, a touch outside off and Buttler bisects cover and point for a couple of runs. Defended to cover for a dot ball. Full on middle and leg and thumped over the bowler for one more. Padikkal steps out to hammer this short one on leg-side but is cramped for room and ends up thumping it back to the bowler. Good bouncer at 1433 kmph and Padikkal cannot connect the pull shot. Tucked off the hips for a leg-bye and Padikkal still hasn't got off the mark after facing seven balls.
RR 71/2 in 10 overs: Full and straight by Shami, shaping in a bit and driven back to the bowler by Buttler. A couple of runs for Buttler at sweeper cover and Buttler has gone past Warner as the second-highest run-scorer in a single IPL season. FOUR! Short and this is pulled away to the square leg fence. FOUR! Full and driven away past mid-off for another boundary by Buttler. Moves to 33 runs off 27 balls. Yorker dug out to mid-on for a quick single. 11 runs from the Shami over.
RR 60/2 in 9 overs: Hardik to bowl. Short and wide outside off, Buttler jumps to cut this over point for a single. OUT! Slightly short, Samson gets a top edge on the pull and this is taken easily at point. The skipper goes. Sanju Samson c R Sai Kishore b Hardik Pandya 14(11b 2x4). Padikkal comes in and is beaten first ball with one that angles away outside off. Length onto the pads and tucked on leg-side for another dot ball. Beaten again! Another lagging length and angles away and Padikkal pokes outside off and misses. Dot to end the over.
RR 59/1 in 8 overs: Rashid into his second over. First ball is pushed between cover and point for one. Full and middle and driven down the ground for a single at long-off. Leg-break, turning away outside off and beaten. Single next ball. Turning into Samson on a length, he goes back to push this to mid-on for one more. Five singles from the over. TIME OUT!
RR 54/1 in 7 overs: Ferguson continues. Full just outside off and Samson digs this out straight to mid-off. Low full toss wide outside off and sliced to deep point for one. Length ball outside off and Buttler is beaten trying to slap this away between cover and point. FOUR! Another full one and pierced by Buttler just over extra cover fielder for a boundary. FOUR! Buttler is liking the pace and this is cut over point for another four. Fifty runs up for RR in 6.5 overs. Pushed to mid-off for a quick single.
RR 44/1 in 6 overs: FOUR! Horrible misfield by Kishore at extra cover and this has gone to the boundary, off Samson's backfoot punch. Rashid is not too pleased. Two singles to follow. Rashid keeps his length on his side of the pitch. Samson goes inside his crease to push this on legs-side for one more. Dot to end the over.
RR 37/1 in 5 overs: Ferguson into the attack. Full outside off first ball and driven by Buttler straight to point. Slower one on the stumps and tapped to mid-off for a quick single by Buttler. FOUR! First ball boundary for Samson. Fullish, Samson works with the pace to just clear mid-on for a boundary. Cut away behind to third man for one next ball. Yorker, wide outside off, Buttler has to get low to get bat to this but misses. Ferguson runs in, and Buttler backs away due to some disturbance behind the bowler probably. 157.3 kmph, Ferguson has bowled the fastest of this season, and this yorker beats Buttler.
RR 31/1 in 4 overs: Jaiswal steers this to third man and Buttler dives to just make it at the striker's end. Just a single. Length ball on leg, and Buttler whisks this away for one at mid-wicket. Bouncer and beaten! Next one is full outside off and Jaiswal drills this over point for two more. SIX! Short and pulled away over fine-leg for a maximum. OUT! Pulled away again and this pull has gone slightly high off the bat and it is taken by Sai at deep square leg. Yashasvi Jaiswal c Sai Kishore b Yash Dayal 22(16b 1x4 2x6).
RR 21/0 in 3 overs: Single first ball for Buttler. Another one angling sharply into Jaiswal and he is beaten trying to pull. FOUR! Jaiswal gets under this full one and hauls it over mid-off for his first boundary. Wild swing and a miss outside off next ball. SIX! Full outside off and Jaiswal lofts this over the covers for a sublime maximum. Pulled away over mid-wicket, the ball looses its feet just before reaching the boundary, Rashid Khan pulls it back in and batters collect three runs.
RR 7/0 in 2 overs: Dayal from the other end. Over the wicket to Buttler, angling away outside off and left in the channel. Back of a length on leg and Buttler hops to defend this. FOUR! Length ball outside off and carved away behind point for the first boundary of the over. Slightly fuller next ball, still outside off and pushed straight to mid-off. Short and slow, Buttler jams the pull into the ground and fetches a single behind square leg. Beaten! Shortish, angling in on leg, and Jaiswal misses the pull and the ball falls around his toes off the pads and he is left frantically looking for the ball.
RR 2/0 in 1 over: The umpires make their way to the ground. The Titans are in a huddle and the openers have also come out. Shami has the new ball for Titans. Shami to Jaiswal. Around the wicket. On a length, angling in and pushed off the backfoot to mi-off. Angling in further on leg, going down leg from middle stump and Jaiswal misses the flick. One leg-bye. Buttler gently nudges this to mid-one for one more. Quite wide outside off, short of a length and left by Jasiwal. Swinging in again and Jaiswal flicks this just short of square leg. Vicious short ball, coming into the body and Jaiswal is cramped for room.
19:55 IST: The national anthem is playing at the stadium ahead of the final. Both teams have assembled in the middle. All done with the anthem and Buttler and Jaiswal will soon walk out to open the innings for Rajasthan.
MATCH-UPS
WHAT THE CAPTAINS SAID
Hardik Pandya: We would have bowled first. It is fantastic to see so many people coming to support us. We have the opportunity to be heroes and this is the time for us. Qualifying early and having a break does help calm your nerves down. We have focused as a group, be as normal as possible and play our 'A' game. People of Gujarat are very loyal, very excited for it.
Sanju Samson: We will bat first. Looks like a good wicket. A bit dry and that's why we will bat first. It is a used wicket and might help our spinners in the second innings. We are all positive and excited. Playing in front of this crowd is exciting.
RR VS GT PLAYING XI
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c) (wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Obed McCoy, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami.
TOSS: Samson and Hardik are out for the toss in the middle. Rajasthan Royals wins the toss and elects to bat. Royals are unchanged. Hardik Pandya says he would have bowled first. So both captains are happy. Lockie Ferguson replaces Alzarri Joseph in the playing XI.
PITCH REPORT: Same pitch as the one used for Qualifier 2. There will be extra bounce today, as seen in the RR vs RCB game. The boundaries are just slightly lopsided. Simon Doull reckons the team batting first should put on 180-190 runs and reminds us that the team batting first has won nine out of 14 finals so far.
19:20 IST: The toss is just 10 minutes away. The coin has so far only gone Samson's way on three occasions out of 16, while Hardik Pandya has won 10 tosses out of 15 in IPL 2022.
19:10 IST: The closing ceremony has come to a close and the players are out for their pre-match routine.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals will have a distinguished group cheering them on in the final today.
19:00 IST: AR Rahman has now taken over from Ranveer Singh.
18:35 IST: The IPL has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest cricket jersey in the world. Ranveer Singh has begun his performance at the closing ceremony.
17:49 IST: The Narendra Modi Stadium gears up for the closing ceremony.
GT VS RR DREAM11 FANTASY PREDICTION
Here is a look at the records of both captain in IPL playoffs. While Hardik Pandya has an unbeaten record in IPL finals - winning on all four occasions he has turned up in a summit clash for Mumbai Indians - Sanju Samson will feature in an IPL final for the very first time.
MATCH PREVIEW
What did Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals get right in this edition of the Indian Premier League? Quite a few things.
For new entrant Titans, it was a challenge to start from scratch. Under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, the team could identify its potential key players and plan accordingly.
Even though quite a few other franchises splurged on big names in the mega-auction in February, Titans’ approach was unique - it went for David Miller, who many thought had past his prime; Rahul Tewatia, who looked rather pale after his six-hitting spree in Sharjah, two summers ago; and India discard Wriddhiman Saha.
The choices were baffling back then. But with its core revolving around Hardik, Shubman Gill and Rashid Khan, the Titans think-tank knew that it was taking a calculated risk by putting its money on the old warhorses. And after two months of cricket, it is evident that the strategy paid off; not only have Miller, Saha and Tewatia delivered, they have also guided the team to its first-ever IPL final, to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, against the Royals.
Long wait
After 2008, it has been a long wait for the Royals to reach another final. The ‘Men in Pink’ aim to rewrite history and pay a fitting tribute to their ‘first Royal’ Shane Warne, who passed away in March. Returning to the fold in 2018 after a two-year suspension, the Royals relied heavily on the superstars from England and Australia who would essentially form their core.
ALSO READ - Jos Buttler - repaying the Royals’ faith
While Steve Smiths, Ben Stokes and others earned big money, the Royals struggled in the points table, forcing the management to get over its obsession to pick players from England and Australia and to look at building a solid core of Indian players. Royals eventually got lucky at the auction as it could rope in the top two Indian spinners - R. Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal.
A close-knit group
The inclusion of Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna bolstered Royals’ pace department. And among batters, it could rope in Devdutt Padikkal and Shimron Hetmyer while already retaining Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler. The biggest challenge was to make things work and under the guidance of head coach Kumar Sangakkara, the Royals have looked like a closely knit unit.
ALSO READ - The resurgence of ‘Killer Miller’
Those ‘little suggestions’ by Sangakkara helped the team and how! Coming after months of almost no training, Buttler let the willow do the talking and went on to don the Orange Cap, emerging as a match-winner. Chahal and Ashwin had their off days, but when they found their mojo, they made sure that they put the opponents on the mat. And the lively Hetmyer changed things in the middle-order.
So, all in all, the Royals could come out of their ‘top-heavy’ shadow and rebuild. The way Buttler returned to form after a series of disappointments or the way Prasidh bounced back with three wickets in the second qualifier against Royal Challengers Bangalore despite being taken to the cleaners by Miller in the previous game only explains the philosophy of the camp - accept the result and move on.
Prasidh v Miller, Buttler v Rashid
However, the final will be a different ball game. With a packed stadium and plenty of fireworks - both on and off the field - expected, the teams will need to hold their nerves and ensure that they don’t choke under pressure.
It will be interesting to see how Prasidh executes the plans against a rampaging Miller and how Ashwin and Chahal come up with a plan for Hardik. And, of course, all eyes will be on how Buttler handles Rashid.
With the city witnessing an IPL final for the first time and a team from Gujarat featuring in the final, the expectations have already sky-rocketed. Prior to the final, there will be a glitzy closing ceremony, attended by Bollywood superstars. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to attend the final. There will be a special show marking the journey of Indian cricket over the last 75 years.
Amid all the glitz and glamour, two young captains will be taking the field with determination and hope. Over the last two months, both Sanju and Hardik battled all odds, ducked all criticisms to bring their respective teams so far.
It doesn’t matter who wins or loses in the end, but remember the efforts by the Royals. Remember the Titans!
WHERE AND WHEN TO WATCH RR VS GT IPL 2022 FINAL LIVE?
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