Hardik Pandya will be appearing in his 5th IPL final when Gujarat Titans take on the Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
He has played all 4 IPL finals as part of Mumbai Indians, and he has won each one of them. Well, that's some gloomy stat right there for RR fans.
Here is how the all-rounder has performed in previous IPL final appearances. Unfortunately, Pandya hasn't had the best of times during IPL finals.
In 4 matches, Pandya has just scored 29 runs at an average of 7.25, with the highest score of 16. With the ball in hand, Pandya has conceded 39 runs in 5 overs at an economy of 7.80. He has no wickets against his name. '
His best performance came in 2019 against Chennai Super Kings, where he scored 16 runs, bowled one over, and conceded only 3 runs. MI eventually won the match by a single run to win their third title.
As far as tonight's final is concerned, these are the player battles to watch out for when GT take on RR.
Hardik Pandya vs Chahal
This is going to be one of the most important battles of the match. Chahal has been in the form of his life, Pandya, on the other hand, has rediscovered himself.
Chahal has bowled 38 balls to Hardik in 7 innings and conceived just 32 runs. These numbers are pretty low by Hardik's standard and show a clear upper hand that Chahal has over his fellow India player.
Trent Boult vs Sanju Samson
The final is expected to be played on a fresh pitch. If there's grass covering on the deck, boult will become double the bowler, and it will be a treat to see how Samson tackles him.
Buttler may be one of the strongest RR batters this season, but if RR is to win the big one, Samson will have to step up. And by the looks of it, Sanju seems motivated enough to do it.
Prasidh Krishna vs Saha
Who can ever forget Saha's brilliant century vs KKR in the IPL 2014 final? He smashed 115 off just 55 deliveries to almost hand Punjab their maiden title.
It is again the big night, and if his form is anything to go by, we cannot rule out an exhibition from the veteran batsman. Krishna, on the other hand, has been at his best for RR this season and made a grand comeback vs RCB by picking up 3 crucial wickets. The battle may well determine the outcome of this match.
