AS ROYALS FLOUNDER, HARDIK LEADS DEBUTANTS GUJARAT TO IPL GLORY!

He came, he saw and he conquered! Hardik Pandya has come a long way from the outspoken lad who embarrassed himself on a T.V show to now captaining Gujarat Titans to IPL Glory in their first season. The final was billed as a blockbuster but ultimately debutants Gujarat scored an emphatic win over the Rajasthan Royals to clinch the title. Far from being a humdinger as fans expected the clash between No. 1 and 2 teams of the league, the Titans registered a one-sided victory, winning by 7 wickets and 11 balls to spare.

Hardik Pandya, as stated, was the most influential factor in the Titans win. Stellar all-round performances supported his superb tactics as a leader. Sceptics abounded when he was made captain but he proved all of them wrong. Hardik not only led from the front but read match situations astutely, inspiring the best out of his players. On the night of the finals, he bowled his full quota of 4 overs, picked 3 wickets and conceded just 17 runs. During the chase too, when his side was 23 for 2, Hardik calmed the nerves with a steady 34 runs to take his team to a comfortable win. Naturally, he was presented the Man of the Match award for his remarkable effort and leadership.

In contrast, the Rajasthan Royals were playing their second final but except for winning the toss, they did precious little to help their cause. Royals have been extremely dependent on Jos Buttler who has scored 4 centuries in this year’s IPL equalling Virat Kohli’s record and also won the Orange cap for most runs in this edition. Once he got out, Rajasthan team folded quickly for a paltry total of 130. Their lower order has been poor through the season and flopped badly in the final. The worst culprit, of course, was Captain Sanju Samson who as usual did not live up to his batting prowess and promise. Scoring big runs consistently has been an issue for Samson for quite a while now and his impetuosity proved a costly, decisive error in settling the outcome of the final.

In their bowling department, Trent Boult and Prasidha Krishna bowled well but Ravi Ashwin had a terrible day and was taken to the cleaners by the Gujarat batsmen. Yuzvendra Chahal, with the purple cap for most wickets, bowled tightly giving just 20 runs and scalping a wicket in his quota of overs. But Gujarat had no scoreboard pressure, which meant they could play out several overs, just consolidating. Eventually, it was a cakewalk for Hardik’s team as David Miller and the calm Shubhman Gill anchored the side to a famous win.

Despite losing the finals, Rajasthan Royals had an encouraging year too. Though their batting ran out of steam in the final, there was much to appreciate in their campaign: Buttler’s sizzling batting, Samson’s aggressive batting and captaincy, and the potent bowling of Chahal, Boult and Prasidha Krishna. All these promise a Championship win for the Royals in the near future.

Interestingly, this year’s IPL season saw a whopping 1,062 sixes being hit though the tournament also saw 107 batsmen being dismissed for ducks. Overall, the large number of close clashes reflected how strong the tug of war was between the top 6 teams. Big teams like Mumbai and Chennai were out of the IPL within no time. But the new entrants ensured that the fans got to see a lot of flair even without superstars like Virat and Rohit striking anything near their peak form in this IPL edition.

Significantly, the season yielded several positives for the Indian team. A battery of pacers from Umran Khan to Arshdeep Singh were tough to handle for all batters and reflect the depth of India’s fast bowling resources. In addition, the comeback by Dinesh Kartik and Hardik Pandya are major gains. Besides his skill as a classy All Rounder, Hardik has quite suddenly emerged as a mature and spontaneous captain. Besides his sound reading of game situations and decisive moves, Pandya revealed an intuitive skill to rally the boys around him and bring out their best. All this augurs well for India. Many experts see shades of Warne in him - wild and flashy in youth, Hardik is gradually maturing in understanding the nuances of the game which is great news for Indian cricket!

Finally, Rajasthan may have lost, but Gujarat winning the IPL is also a terrific tribute to the Aussie legend. With their spunk and spirit, their pluck and panache, the Titans as a team often reminded cricket lovers of Warne’s warriors who lifted the trophy in 2008 despite being rated as one of the weakest sides before the inaugural IPL season! The Titans triumph in a fundamental sense underlines the glorious uncertainties that make Cricket such an attractive sport – and even before IPL 2022 has ended, fans are already yearning for the next edition!

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

SIDDHAARTH MAHAN The writer is a specialist on Sports and Cinema who works as an actor in the Hindi film industry