On Sunday afternoon, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya became the first-ever pair of brothers to captain against each other in the IPL history. This is only the second-ever such instance in T20 professional cricket.
The Gujarat Titans hosted the Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday afternoon at the Narendra Modi stadium. It was an emotional moment in the Pandya family as the two brothers have risen in stature and now were leading their respective teams in the biggest cricket tournament of all.
Krunal Pandya was appointed the captain of the LSG after KL Rahul was ruled out of the tournament owing to a thigh injury, for which the opener will be undergoing surgery in the coming weeks.
This was Krunal Pandya’s second match as the LSG captain; the previous game against CSK was washed out.
This is only the second match in T20 professional cricket where two real brothers were captaining against each other. The first such instance happened in the BBL 2015/16 when the Hussey brothers – David Hussey & Michael captained in the Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder game.
Brothers captaining against each other in a T20 match:
1. David Hussey & Michael Hussey
Melbourne Stars v Sydney Thunder, 2015-16
2. Hardik Pandya & Krunal Pandya
Gujarat Titans v Lucknow Super Giants, 2023
There was an emotional moment ahead of the toss in Ahmedabad where Hardik Pandya was seen adjusting the cap of Krunal and both shared some heartfelt words.
Pandya brothers making history today in IPL.
A beautiful moment in IPL. pic.twitter.com/SELOHZPIcE
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 7, 2023
At the toss, Hardik Pandya said: “It’s an emotional day, our father would have been proud. This is something happening for the first time, so our family is proud. One Pandya will definitely win today.”
Krunal said: “It’s a dream come true for us, leading our respective sides.”
Krunal won the toss and elected to field first. That decision however didn’t pay off as GT amassed 227/2 on the back of strong performances from its openers: Saha scored 81 off 43 balls and Gill scored 94* off 51 balls.
