IPL 2023: Hardik Pandya praised MS Dhoni’s captaincy after CSK defeated GT in Qualifier 1
Despite losing the 2023 IPL Qualifier 1 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Tuesday by 15 runs, Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya has no regrets.
Chasing a target of 173 runs, GT folded for 153 runs in 20 overs. It was a disappointing performance with the bat as only two batsmen managed to score a 30 plus score. Shubham Gill top scored 42 off 38 and Rashid Khan played a fine knock of 30 off 16 in the end but it was not enough to seal a final ticket for the team.
Pandya Praises MS Dhoni
After the conclusion of the game, Harik Pandya stated that the CSK’s skipper MS Dhoni’s captaincy brilliance made the difference, the way he used his bowlers makes them feel like that his team has scored 10 runs more than the actual target.
“That’s the beauty about him (Dhoni), with his mind and the way he uses the bowlers, he’ll make sure that you’ll feel like he’s adding 10 runs. We kept losing wickets, he kept making sure that he used the right bowlers, happy for him as well. It would be a really good sight to meet him on Sunday if we can win the next game,” Hardik said while speaking about the challenge of playing against MS Dhoni during the post-race interview.
Pandya on GT’s loss
Speaking about the where GT went wrong against CSK, Hardik said that some basic errors cost them the match while also admitted that they had gave 15 runs extra. He also said that they don’t need to think too much about loss at the moment as they have one more chance to lock their final ticket in the Qualifier 2.
“I think we were quite spot on [with the ball], but we made basic errors. And I think that cost us the game. After the first innings, the kind of wicket and at the same point of time the kind of bowlers we had, I felt we exactly went 15 runs above the score where we should have stopped them.”
Hardik said “No, no, I don’t think so. You know regrets are not good in life. We expected dew might come. It did not come but still I think we gave 15 runs extra and as a batting unit we lost wickets and we were always chasing the game.”
Gujarat Titans (GT) will now face the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Qualifier 2 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Friday, May 26, after MI won the eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 81 runs on Wednesday.
