IPL 2022: It is a great effort to qualify for playoffs before 14th game – Hardik Pandya

Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya was delighted after his team became the first side to qualify for the playoffs of the ongoing Indian Premier League after beating Lucknow Super Giants by 62 runs at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Mumbai on Tuesday.

After their ninth win, GT has also given a fillip to their chances of finishing amongst the top two teams, which will give them two chances in the playoffs.

GT posted a fighting score of 144-4 after Pandya won the toss and decided to bat first, which was their second-lowest score of the season. Shubman Gill played the whole 20 overs as he scored 63 runs from 49 balls to help his team post a competitive score.

On the other hand, Gujarat Titans’ bowlers were brilliant in their defense of the target. Yash Dayal provided two quick wickets as he sent back Quinton de Kock and Karan Sharma. Furthermore, Mohammed Shami accounted for KL Rahul with a short delivery.

Subsequently, the spinners breathed down the neck of the LSG batters to put them under pressure. Rashid Khan returned with figures of 4-24 in his 3.5 overs and it is his best IPL figures.

Sai Kishore, making his IPL debut, also took two wickets and conceded only seven runs in his two overs.

Hardik Pandya said in the post-match presentation, “Really, really proud of the boys. It is a great effort to qualify before the 14th game in this league. To be honest, in the last game, we kind of thought that the game was over before it was over. We were always under pressure in all the other games that we won, and we felt that we’d finish off the last game with the kind of batting we had. That was learning we took. We just wanted to be ruthless today, and relax post-game. I rate Sai Kishore quite high as a left-arm spinner. Because of the kind of fast bowlers we had, it wasn’t possible to play him and Jayant Yadav.”

He added, “Lucknow were a bit short in their lengths, and fuller lengths were working. Our bowlers did everything that we asked of them, and we ticked all boxes today. I always feel that if you lose a game like the one we lost in our last game, we win and lose games as a team. Yes, we did not do what we wanted to do. We messed it up, but we messed it up as a team. Everyone stood by each other, and we had a get-together post-game and made sure the vibe was always there. We were still in the second spot and that meant we were doing something right.”

Gujarat Titans will look to continue their good show in their last two league stage matches. GT will next face Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday.