IPL 2022 Final: Hardik Pandya, leading Gujarat Titans from the front and all the way through – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

When the IPL 2022 began, in what looks like an eon ago, Gujarat Titans (GT) got a lot of flak when at the auction they seemingly struggled to stitch together a team that could be a viable and competitive outfit in their inaugural IPL season. But one can now safely say that the GT management got a few things right for sure, and one of them was picking Hardik Pandya to lead their side in what would be a long, arduous tournament, where losing or winning could depend on very fine margins. And as it turns out, Pandya did what was needed as skipper and now GT are champions in their very first IPL.

Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya waves to the crowd during the final of the IPL 2022 between the Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Sportzpics for IPL

GT began the tournament like a runaway train. Eight wins on the trot and everyone suddenly sat up and began to take notice. Through all of that, Pandya remained his cool self, with a wicked sense of humour, slightly irreverent and ever cocky.

But his teeth began to show on the field, especially when things were not the best. One such incident was quite a big thing in the social media realms, after Pandya was seen taking on Mohammad Shami, one of the seniors in the GT line-up, in the field.

The skipper got quite a bit of flak for his outburst, but he never is, or never will be, the apologetic kind. That was not the only time these two were seen crossing paths during the tournament, as quite an animated argument between the two during Qualifier 1 too made headlines.

But none of that matter anymore. Pandya is the man who led GT to their maiden IPL title, right in their debut year, ironically beating Rajasthan Royals, who themselves had won the crown in their first season.

So how does this win add to Pandya’s credentials? For starters, he never ever got rattled, not even when GT’s winning streak was halted, and even towards the ends of the league, when each and every point was fought over bitterly.

Pandya is quite akin to a stallion. He needs to be led to a wide and sunny meadow and let loose to go through his paces with his own twists and turns and assorted antics. For someone so unfettered as a cricketer and person, to be able to connect his side and lead them to the title is something of a coming of age for him.

Pandya’s value as an all-rounder for India had taken a beating in the recent past, especially as his bowling took the back seat with his injuries deciding many things.

But he came back, and tactically, Rajasthan Royals (RR) were surely surprised to see him in full tilt in the final, and the results were there to see.

A haul of 3/17 in a critical part of the RR batting assault was practically a match-winning effort. The rivals never recovered.

Pandya seemed to go on almost unnoticed in IPL 2022. There were assaults at the top from Wriddhiman Saha, some sensational hitting from David Miller; Lockie Ferguson fired in the big thunderbolts and Shami was in his elements.

Amid all that, Pandya quietly climbed on to the 4^th slot on the IPL 2022 batting list. Fifteen innings saw him score 487 runs with a top score of 87 not out and a strike rate of 131.26. Possibly not the champagne hitting of the Pandya of the yore, but maybe that is what the coming of age was all about.

So, four half-centuries and an average of 44.27 apart, Pandya the bowler showed some of his paces.

Eight wickets in 15 matches may not be the best the Pandya’s fans and GT would have hoped for, but let’s also understand that for most part of IPL 2022, he didn’t bowl, and several times, he didn’t complete his quota, or even his over on an odd occasion.

Pandya’s fitness was a concern, no doubt, what with India being plunged into so many limited-overs contests after the IPL. So, his lack of deliveries with the ball were definitely a question mark.

But 3/17 in the final was enough to say that while Pandya the bowler may still not be 100 percent, there is no doubt that Pandya the cricketer is present and accounted for. And how.

Hardik Pandya will cherish this one. The expectations will rise tenfold in the coming seasons, and he has seen, even the biggest will fall at some time. But right now, it is skipper Pandya and Gujarat Titans’ moment, and no one can deny them that.

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