Hardik Pandya’s fairytale ride in the IPL resumed as he won the title for the fifth time. But this time it was different as now he was leading a side, Gujarat Titans, one of the two new franchises introduced this season.
Released from the Mumbai Indians after a 7-year association, Hardik Pandya marched the Titans to their maiden IPL title, that too in the franchise’s debut season, as they thrashed the Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets in the final at the majestic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Pandya himself was the Player of the Match in the final for his terrific all-round performance. First, with the ball, he took three important wickets – those of Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer – for only 17 runs in his 4-over spell, helping his main bowlers restrict RR to a below-par total of 130.
GT suffered a hiccup in the chase, losing Saha and Wade for the score of 23. Then, Pandya joined hands with Gill and both steadily took the side to a safe point with their partnership of 63 runs off 53 balls before Pandya (34 off 30) succumbed to Chahal’s spin.
With the game all but done, David Miller hammered 32 runs off 19 balls before Gill launched Obed McCoy for a maximum making Titans the champions of IPL 2022.
Hardik Pandya’s wife Natasa Stankovic breaks down in tears
Happy tears it was which dripped down the eyes of Natasa Stankovic, wife of Hardik Pandya after the couple hugged following their victory. Natasa got emotional as Pandya consoled her in his arms. The couple got married in 2020, the same year Natasa gave birth to their son, Agastya.
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— Ashok (@Ashok94540994) May 29, 2022
Hardik has been through a lot of challenges in the past year, with being criticized and trolled for his performance in the last IPL and in the T20 World Cup. His future in the Indian team was also questioned when he wasn’t bowling full tilt. But now he’s made a stunning comeback with both bat and ball in the IPL 2022 and shut down any doubts and all detractors.
