Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya has tipped Sai Sudharsan to do something great in franchise cricket and eventually do the same for Indian cricket. The left-hander from Tamil Nadu played a match-winning knock of 62 runs off just 48 balls to help his team chase 163 runs against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Tuesday.
In fact, GT did find themselves in some trouble at 54-3 while chasing the below-par score. However, the southpaw added 53 runs with Vijay Shankar and then another 56 runs with David Miller.
Sudharsan made good adjustments and he was able to negate Anrich Nortje’s spell, who was spitting fire. The youngster scored his second IPL fifty to help the reigning champions win by six wickets and with 11 balls to spare.
Hardik Pandya said in the post-match presentation, “Sai Sudharsan is been batting terrifically. Credit to the support staff and to him as well. The amount of batting he’s done in the last 15 days, all the result you see is all his hard work. Going forward, if I’m not wrong, in two years, he’ll do something great for franchise cricket and eventually for India cricket as well.”
Pandya admitted that Delhi’s green track took them by surprise but feels his bowlers conceded a 15-20 runs extra in the PowerPlay overs. However, he added that they made a good recovery in the middle overs. Shami and Rashid Khan scalped three wickets each whereas Alzarri Joseph took two wickets.
Pandya added, “It was funny at the start, we didn’t know exactly what was happening but something was happening. We gave 15-20 runs extra in the powerplay. The way the bowlers pulled back was amazing. I go with my instinct, I like to back myself. I would rather back my own decision and fall down rather than thinking something else. Most often, I rather punch first rather than take the punch. We tell the boys to enjoy there. It helps you take the right decisions. Someone’s putting their hand up. We have spoken about this. Taking care of each other is more important.”
Gujarat Titans have got off to a great start, winning both of their opening matches. GT will next face Kolkata Knight Riders at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday.
