Hardik Pandya, the skipper led Gujarat Titans to their fourth win out of the five games they played. With this win, they climbed back up to the top position of the table. They managed to win against Rajasthan Royals on a margin of 37 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.
What exactly did Hardik Pandya do as a captain?
The skipper of Gujarat Titans stroked a 52-ball 87, his second half-century in the IPL 2022 season, to push his side to a massive total of 192-4. This is also their highest total in this season.
They had a not-so-well start in the beginning as they lost two wickets in the initial three overs. After a brisk start that included three boundaries in six balls, Matthew Wade was run out for 12 by Rassie van der Dussen on a direct throw. Soon after, Vijay Shankar, who had returned to the team, had another poor performance, falling behind on a 7-ball 2 to Kuldeep Sen.
Shubhman Gill was on the verge of breaking free after the powerplay, but he was trapped at long-off for a 14-ball 13 in an attempt to cash in on Riyan Parag’s part-time spin. Gujarat were 54 for 3 at the conclusion of the seventh over, still looking for some momentum.
How did Gujarat Titans project a huge total under Hardik Pandya?
Hardik and Abhinav Manohar put on an 86-run stand for the fourth wicket in 9.1 overs. The pair initially restrained their natural aggression, scoring only one boundary in the first 23 balls of their partnership – a thick edge off Manohar’s bat that sailed past the wicketkeeper. They, on the other hand, remained to be preoccupied with their running in the middle.
Hardik Pandya pulled a short ball from James Neesham for a boundary in the 12th over, marking the first meaningful attempt to take the assault to the opposition. Abhinav hit Yuzvendra Chahal for a six and a four off successive deliveries in the next over. Following that, the duo went on a tear, forcing Ashwin to pitch the ball short.
What was the outcome of the death overs?
For a larger part of the game, Rajasthan Royals had sized up Hardik Pandya and David Miller. R Ashwin controlled the skipper with fast and full deliveries on the leg-side while Prasidh Krishna forced the two to hit through offside full of fielders with deliveries bowled outside off-stump.
However, they bashed Kuldeep Sen for 21 runs in the second-last over and Prasidh Krishna for 13 in the last to end.
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Could Rajasthan Royals pick up after the powerplay?
Not in the least. Soon after, Hardik Pandya bowled Sanju Samson for a run-a-ball 11 with a magnificent pick and throw from mid-off, and the rest of the team continued to chip in with wickets at regular intervals. The Royals were held to 155 for 9 runs, with Dayal and Ferguson returning with three each.
Brief Scores
Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans 192/4 (Hardik Pandya 87*, Abhinav Manohar 43; Riyan Parag 1-12, Yuzvendra Chahal 1-32) beat Rajasthan Royals 155/9 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 54, Shimron Hetmyer 29; Lockie Ferguson 3-23, Yash Dayal 3-40) by 37 runs.
