Krunal - Hardik - IPL - sportstiger

Picture Credit: Twitter

Gujarat Titans (GT) scripted history when they beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL 2022 Final to lift their maiden trophy and that too in their debut season. The new entrants into this biggest T20 setup played like a pro team right from the start and eventually won the title. Hardik Pandya was as impressive as any champion leader in his first stint as a captain.

The Baroda all-rounder led his team from the front and won games in crunch situations. Such was his performance for Gujarat that experts fell in awe of the cricketer. Everyone hailed Pandya for his impressive comeback to cricket (being out with injury for almost four months). And now, having won the title, Pandya also received some love from his brother Krunal Pandya.

Krunal, who was representing Lucknow in the 15th edition of the Indian T20 league, shared a beautiful message for his younger brother after the latter’s team lifted the title. Krunal reshared a video from Gujarat Titans in his Instagram story and wrote “Proud of you” in the caption. Notably, Hardik revisits his journey in IPL 2022 in the video shared by the franchise.

Watch it here:

Hardik, the captain impresses everyone!

Hardik Pandya was indeed brilliant in his first season as captain. The 28-year-old looked extremely calm and composed throughout the season. Hardik not only made good decisions on the field but was equally good with his performances. The all-rounder scored 487 runs in 15 matches for GT in IPL 2022 at an average of 44.27. He also took eight wickets including three in the final.

Pandya played many good innings and his highest score was 87* which came against RR in the league stage game. But two of his most impactful batting performances came in two important games. Pandya’s 40* in Qualifier 1 ensured GT walked safely into the final while his 34 in the final helped GT avoid a collapse.