IPL 2022: Hardik Pandya feels he can control the game with bat at no 4
Apr 15, 2022
Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 15 : Hardik Pandya scored an unbeaten 87 off 52 balls to lead Gujarat Titans to victory by 37 runs here at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy on Thursday. The Gujarat Titans skipper came in at the no. 4 position and paced his innings to perfection.
"The last game it did not come off but today 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," said Pandya in the post-match presentation.
In the previous match, Pandya scored 50 runs off 42 balls but in this match, he batted brilliantly to take his team from 15/2 to 192/4 by the end of 20 overs scoring an unbeaten 87. En route to his brilliant performance with the bat he even struggled a bit but still batted till the very end. His superlative performance helped him bag the 'Player of the Match' award.
"Pretty special. A lot of hard work for me tonight. It was just cramps, nothing serious. I am not used to batting this long. It gives me a lot of time. I can calculate and take risks, " said Hardik Pandya.
Hardik Pandya is leading his side by example scoring 228 runs with the bat in five innings at an average of 76 at an impressive strike rate of 136.52 with two half-centuries to his name. He is second in the list of leading run-scorers behind Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler. With the ball too he has contributed taking four wickets in five matches.
"Captaincy is fun and it allows me to take responsibility and be the flag-bearer. The group carries one another. My motto was I wanted everyone to be happy, " said Hardik Pandya.
With four wins in five matches, Gujarat Titans have reached the top of the IPL points table and they will now take on Chennai Super Kings in their next match on Sunday.
