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After registering the seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Tuesday, Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya said that his family has played a big role in his growth as a cricketer.
David Miller played a ballistic knock of 68 from 38 balls and captain Hardik Pandya's 40 off 27 balls guided debutants Gujarat Titans to a seven-wicket win over the inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens. GT have made it to the finals in their first foray into the tournament. Following the win, Hardik thanked his family and friends and said that he is trying to be neutral for the final clash. "I've started to balance things in my life. Has been a constant effort throughout the last couple of years. In the end, my family, my son, my wife, and my brother as well have played a big role. They kind of allowed me to get neutral in life. I look forward to going home and spending some time with family, and that's made me a better cricketer as well. Don't have much feeling right now. Trying to be neutral again I'll say," Hardik Pandya said in a post-match presentation. Skipper said his team have different players who bring different values to the team and added they all are genuine human beings. "All the 23 players are different characters, and bring different things to the table. Was saying to Miller as well, if you have good people around you, you get good things. It's been that story for us. The kind of people we have, the genuine human beings we have. I genuinely see even the players in the dugout are trying and praying for them to make sure they do well. That is something fantastic and that is the reason we have reached where we have reached," he added. Pandya went all praise on Rashid Khan and David Miller, who have a great part in the construction of GT's win over RR. "It's all about making sure we respect this game. Rash has been fantastic throughout the season and throughout his cricketing journey. But I'm proud of Miller - the way we have played," said GT skipper. Talking about his batting position in the team's batting lineup, Pandya said, "Wherever my team requires me to play, I don't generally demand where I want to bat. That's not how I've got success. I've got success by playing for the team, no matter how scratchy I look, how good I look, irrelevant to me. The batting order we've had - we've had to make sure everyone chips in. We appreciate those 10s, 15s, and 20s." Talking about the match, chasing a challenging 189-run target, Gujarat Titans got off to the worst possible start losing Wriddhiman Saha for a duck off two balls of Trent Boult's bowling, caught behind by captain and wicket-keeper Sanju Samson. Matthew Wade then joined opener Shubman Gill and the duo took GT's total beyond the 50-run mark in 5.1 overs to notch up a 50-run partnership in just 29 balls. The partnership carried on as both the batters batted aggressively. The 72-run partnership was broken as Gill was run out by Devdutt Padikkal and Shimron Hetmyer for 35 off 21 balls. Left-arm medium-pacer Obed McCoy provided RR with the third breakthrough dismissing Wade for 35 off 30 balls. Captain Hardik Pandya and David Miller joined hands and took Gujarat's total beyond the triple-figure mark in 10.4 overs. Pandya-Miller pair notched up 50-partnership in just 32 balls. The inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals tried to break the partnership but failed to do so as GT reached the 150-run mark in 16.1 overs. David Miller went on to score his half-century off 35 balls. Pandya-Miller went on to score a 100-run partnership. In the last over, Gujarat Titans needed 16 runs to win the match and Miller hammered Prasidh Krishna for three sixes off the first three balls to register a seven-wicket win and become the first team to enter the final. (ANI)
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