Gujarat Titans’ Hardik Pandya over the moon after all-round show (87 not out, 1-18 and a run out) against Rajasthan Royals helps beat 2008 champions
Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya runs out Rajasthan Royals’ captain Sanju Samson at DY Patil Stadium on Thursday. Pic/BCCI; IPL
Some players will be weighed down by the burden of captaining a cricket outfit. Some others get the extra kick out of it.
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In his brief stint as captain of the new IPL franchise Gujarat Titans, Hardik Pandya has relished the extra responsibility as he showed in such a splendid manner against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday at the DY Patil Stadium.
Pandya, seen as a finisher in the T20 format ever since he burst on the scene, has batted at number four this IPL season, and he said he enjoyed captaining the Titans.
‘Not just a finisher now’
“Captaincy is fun and it allows me to take responsibility and be the flag-bearer,” said Pandya at the post match presentation after piloting his team to a match-winning total of 192 for four by making 87 not out in 52 balls.
Pandya, who came in when the Titans were stuttering at 15-2 and then saw another wicket fall soon after the end of Powerplay, put on a crucial partnership for the fourth wicket worth 86 with Abhinav Manohar (43).
Pandya, who smashed eight fours and four sixes, then upped the tempo in concert with his fifth wicket partner David Miller (31 not out in 14 balls) to enable his side post an imposing total which could not be chased down by the Royals, who were stopped at 155 for 9 despite a 24-ball 54 by in-form opener Jos Buttler.
Titans won by 37 runs and zoomed to the top of the table with eight points from five matches.
Not to be done after his fireworks with the bat, Pandya ran out his rival number Sanju Samson with a direct hit at the stumps and also picked up the wicket of Jimmy Neesham to easily walk away with the man of the match award.
“Pretty special [feeling]. A lot of hard work for me tonight,” said Pandya who had an attack of cramps too.
“I am not used to batting this long. It [batting at four] gives me a lot of time. I can calculate and take risk. The last game it did not come off but today [Thursday] I made sure I did. I have been in this situation where I have taken the role of scoring 12-ball 30. It is difficult but now at four I can control the game,” he noted.
Samson credits Titans
Samson gave full credit to the Titans and said a clutch of wickets at the start of the chase upset the Royals’ chances in the post-match media conference.
“We lost the game at the start right after Powerplay when we lost too many wickets. Jos [Buttler] gave us a great start. [But] two-three wickets went right after Powerplay. We lost the
momentum there. But you need to give credit to Gujarat Titans for the way they batted”, said the wicketkeeper-batsman.
Royals lost the wickets of Ravichandran Ashwin, promoted to number three, and Buttler in the same over from speedster Lockie Ferguson, the last of the Powerplay. Soon afterwards they Samson was run out to a brilliant pick up and throw by Pandya.
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