Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya was delighted after his team registered a five-wicket win in their maiden match of IPL 2022 as they defeated Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Monday.
The Titans were given a rollicking start by Mohammed Shami as he dismissed KL Rahul on the first ball he bowled.
Subsequently, Shami accounted for Quinton de Kock as he found the gulf between bat and pad to hit the stumps. The fast bowler also dismissed Manish Pandey whereas Varun Aaron got the wicket of Evin Lewis as Shubman Gill took a great catch while running back.
Thus, Lucknow Super Giants were tottering at 29-4 after 4.3 overs and it was always going to be a tough task for them to post a par score. However, they did well to get to 158 runs after Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni scored fifties.
The Wankhede pitch is known to be a batting paradise and Pandya said that they would have taken 160 on this pitch on any day. Furthermore, it was never easy for Lucknow Super Giants to defend the under-par score as it was difficult for their bowlers to bowl with a wet ball due to dew.
Hardik Pandya gave credit to Mohammed Shami for bowling a superb spell as he scalped three wickets. Furthermore, Pandya also praised Abhinav Manohar and Rahul Tewatia for adding the finishing touches in the run-chase. Tewatia scored a quickfire knock of 40 runs off just 24 balls to get his team over the line.
Hardik Pandya said in the post-match presentation, “This was the right game for us to be on either side and learn, but have learned a lot by winning. Shami is known for his seam positions and he got us to a great start. We would have any day taken 160 on this wicket. Mostly I’ll bat at number four because I want to take pressure with my experience so that the others can play freely. We want to win as a team and nobody can take the contribution away from us anyway. It was quite humid as well, so I wouldn’t have finished Shami’s spell over there. Manohar is some talent to look at with the talent he has. He is someone who you are going to hear about in the future. Tewatia was sensational as well. Getting out to Krunal would have pinched me more had we lost, but now the family is neutral and happy. He got me out and we won the match.”
Gujarat Titans will be delighted to start their campaign on a winning note and they would aim to continue the good show. The Hardik Pandya-led team will next face Delhi Capitals at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune on Saturday.
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