Hardik Pandya lifts the IPL trophy following Gujarat Titans' win over Rajasthan Royals.
This IPL has been a story of one man, Hardik Pandya. Before the start of the season, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding Pandya. He was appointed captain of Gujarat Titans, the new entrant in the IPL and there were questions about whether Pandya can bowl and bat. How Pandya with his swag can lead the team and most importantly how will Pandya manage his body during the gruelling period.
The answers are all over today and Hardik has silenced all his critics by guiding Gujarat to their maiden IPL trophy. He let his bat do the talking, led by an example and on the day of the final, punctured the famed Rajasthan Royals' batting line-up.
Pandya dismissed Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer to seal the deal in the first half of the final. From then it was a moment of time that he laid hands on the coveted trophy.
"I live and feed on love, which I keep getting from my family," Pandya said.
Hardik scored 487 runs and picked 8 wickets but it was his calm and cool leadership skills that have earned a lot of praise from all quarters. When asked about his captaincy skills, he said: "I have always enjoyed responsibility and been someone, who wants to lead from the front, so that I can set an example," Pandya said.
"If I want my team to function in a certain way, I need to be the first flag-bearer to show them the way. So that, it makes more sense if I do it first," he said.
Winning the World Cup remains an ultimate goal
Pandya has played the T20 World Cup semifinal in 2026 and the 2019 World Cup semifinal and although his performances were excellent, he is still in search of a World Cup winners medal.
Hardik is back in the Indian team and has now set his eyes on the World Cup.
"It's about winning the World Cup for India, no matter what happens. I have always been that guy to put the team first, so the goal will be to see my team gets it (global trophy) most," he said.
"Playing for India has always been a dream come true. No matter how many games I have played, I have always got support and love. In the short and long term, one goal is there. I want to win the World Cup no matter what happens," he added.
Hardik has won the IPL four times but this victory was special.
"This is a bit more special as I got it as a captain. But those earlier four (2015, 17, 19, 20 with MI) were equally special. I am insanely lucky to win five out of five IPLs, but this IPL trophy will create a legacy. Today was a day, we got such support with 110,000, we got all rewards for the hard work," he said.
When Hardik was picked by Gujarat from the draft, his first endeavour along with head coach Ashish Nehra was to pick a potent bowling side and accordingly, they assembled a cracking unit -- Mohammed Shami (20 wickets), Rashid Khan (19 wickets), Lockie Ferguson (12 wickets) and rookie Yash Dayal (11 wickets).
"People say T20 cricket is a batter's game but it is the bowlers, who win you matches," he said.
But the skipper explained his rationale behind concentrating on the bowling line-up.
"Because if the batters are not putting up a par-score, then you need a gun bowling line-up, so we have always ended up giving 10 runs less. On tracks, where other teams have gone for 190, we have perhaps restricted sides to 180," Pandya said.
"Obviously 10 runs make a big difference in larger context as it can decide on winning and losing. For me and Ashu paa (Nehra), at the start, our endeavour was to create a strong and experienced bowling unit, so that if batting doesn't click occasionally, we can pull things back, so that was very important."
