IPL 2023: GT captain Hardik Pandya credits Rashid Khan's catch for the win against LSG

Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans defeated visitors LSG by a huge margin of 56 runs in the return-fixture.

In a battle of the Pandya brothers, Junior Pandya, Hardik emerged victorious against big brother Krunal. Gujarat Titans defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 56 runs. It was a day of batters at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. First, it were Gujarat Titans who smashed Lucknow Super Giants bowlers then Lucknow’s top order unleashed their power on Titans bowling attack. Titans openers had a blistering start, Wriddhiman Saha (81) and Shubhman Gill (94) added 142 runs for the first wicket in 12 overs. Both of them had a magnificent day with the bat. They smashed Lucknow’s bowling attack all over the park. With a brilliant batting performance, the Titans scored 227 runs and lost only 2 wickets. Captain Hardik Pandya (25) and David Miller (21) also joined the party at the end. 

'Couple of quiet overs in 227 chase, unacceptable'

Chasing 228, Lucknow had a great start with Kyle Mayers (48) and Quinton de Kock (70) adding 88 runs for the first wicket, but they lost the momentum after Mayers's wicket. After scoring 88 runs in the first 8 overs, they could only score 52 runs in the next 8 overs in the middle. Lucknow captain Kruna Pandya said, “When it’s 227, you have to keep going every over. You can afford to have a couple of quiet overs while chasing 200 but not 227”. Talking about taking on his younger brother he said, “You don’t dream of captaining your side in IPL or facing Hardik but the family is happy. Mom was saying two points will come home in the end. There’s so much love between me and Hardik Pandya. There’s leg pulling but it happens only for a couple of minutes”. 

'Rashid's catch changed the game' - Hardik Pandya

Once Lucknow were going strong in the chase with Kyle Mayers and Quinton de Kock smashing GT bowlers. Rashid Khan took a brilliant catch to dismiss Kyle Mayers on 48 runs. That catch changed the momentum and Gujarat made a roaring comeback. Captain Hardik Pandya was pleased with Rashid Khan’s catch, he said, “Rashid’s catch changed the game, The way the game changed the game after that was brilliant, at one point I thought the game was even stevens and that catch was match changing. We were driving at 100 KP/h as a team but that catch caused a bump in their chase”. Hardik Pandya also talked about his brother Krunal, he said, “Our love is too strong, I hope he does well. I’d been happier if things have gotten closer and he had some bragging rights too”. 

'I try working on myself' - Shubman Gill

Titans' opener Shubhman Gill played an outstanding knock of 94 runs in the game. At first, he took the role of an anchor with Wriddhiman Saha then later on he shifted his gear nicely. Gill smashed 2 fours and 7 sixes in his innings. Talking about his inning, he said, “It was important for me to wait for the opportunity, to control myself and not get carried away. Before this match, I think,  I had not hit a six in the last two games and this time I didn’t hit a four till the 17th or 18th over. So I try to keep working on myself”. Gill added 142 runs with Wriddhiman Saha for the opening stand.