Under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, the Gujarat Titans (GT) sailed into their second successive IPL final. On Friday night, they knocked out Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians by 62 runs in the Qualifier 2 to set up a summit clash with four-time winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
GT, who ended the league phase as table toppers with 20 points, lost to CSK by 15 runs in the first qualifier earlier on Tuesday. However, they paved their way to the finals after outsmarting MI, the most successful team in the IPL history, and are set to face MS Dhoni’s CSK at Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has lavished praise on Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya, saying the calmness that he brings into the team reminds him of the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
“He (Hardik) has been very open about his admiration and affection for MSD, just like all those who have followed MSD’s career. When they go out to the toss, they will be very friendly and smiling all that,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
“But when it comes to the match, it will be a completely different atmosphere. It’s a very good opportunity from Hardik Pandya to show how quickly he has learned. When he was captaining for the first time last year, nobody knew what to expect because he has been one of the most exciting and excitable cricketer as well. But that excitable part, we have seen over the last year
“The calmness that he brings into the team is reminiscent of MSD. This is a happy team, which is exactly what we see with CSK as well. Hardik has to take a lot of credit for that,” he added.
The batting great further highlighted the contribution of Ashish Nehra who has been the guiding light for GT players since the team’s inception last year.
“I would not want to miss Ashish Nehra. He is one person, when he is in the change room or the comm box, you cannot but be laughing. He makes life look so easy and he has got one of the sharpest cricketing brains,” the 73-year-old.
(With Agency Inputs)
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