IPL 2022 Final: The Captain Came To The Forefront In The Grand Finale – Aakash Chopra Heaps Praise On Hardik Pandya

Former India opener Aakash Chopra lavished praise on Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Hardik Pandya for his brilliant performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 final against Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Skipper Hardik led from the front in the summit clash to help GT win the IPL 2022 trophy in their debut season. He picked 3 wickets in the first innings of the match to restrict Rajasthan Royals to 130/9. While chasing the target, he scored crucial 34 runs to eventually win the Player of the Match award.

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Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra hailed GT captain and said that the Baroda all-rounder “cleaned up the heart, heartbeat and kidney” of the Rajasthan Royals batting unit by dismissing Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer. He elaborated:

“Hardik the batter, Hardik the captain, Hardik the bowler. The captain came to the forefront in the grand finale, when do you get to see that many times? He picked up three wickets, he cleaned up the heart, heartbeat and kidney.”

“He first dismissed Samson, then Buttler and then Shimron Hetmyer. He broke the back and many times of the opposition batting lineup and then made an important contribution in the batting. Of course, he was not present in the middle to finish the match.”

Aakash Chopra Pinpoints One Major Difference Between Gujarat Titans And Rajasthan Royals In IPL 2022 Final

Chopra further added that both Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans had a strong bowling attack and top-order batting unit and the only difference between the teams was all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who brought the balance to Gujarat Titans. He said:

“There was only one difference between Gujarat and Rajasthan, that was Hardik Pandya. Both teams had five amazing bowlers, if Rajasthan had a strong top order, Gujarat also had two-three formidable batters. Hardik Pandya was bringing balance, a batter in the top six who does good bowling.”

“If we see Hardik’s analysis, four overs, 17 runs and three wickets. First, he dismissed Sanju Samson, I thought that was the game-changing moment. Then he dismissed Jos Buttler with a wicket-taking ball and then Shimron Hetmyer, he finished them.”

Also Read: IPL 2022 Final: People Love Hardik Pandya Because Of The Things He Does On The Field – Virender Sehwag

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