Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya admitted he didn’t mind losing to the great MS Dhoni after the defending champions lost the thrilling IPL 2023 final by five wickets (DLS method) at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Pandya has always shared a great bonhomie with MS Dhoni and made his T20 debut for India under his captaincy.
Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings and MS Dhoni became IPL champions for the fifth (to go level with Mumbai Indians for joint most titles) after Ravindra Jadeja pulled off the heist. 13 runs were required off the final over when GT specialist death bowler Mohit Sharma nailed four yorkers on the trot to concede only three runs.
However, Sharma slightly veered off his length on the penultimate ball, which Jadeja smashed for a straight six. Mohit then drifted down the leg side on the last ball and the left-hander smashed a boundary to fine leg area to take his team to a humdinger win.
Jadeja played a brilliant cameo of 6-ball 15 and he was able to turn the game on the last two balls.
On the other hand, Hardik Pandya was proud of his team’s run and feels they ticked a lot of boxes as a unit. GT was the most successful league-stage team with 10 wins in 14 matches but CSK got the better of them in the playoffs.
Earlier in the game, Sai Sudharsan played a brilliant knock of 96 runs off just 47 balls. In fact, the left-hander got off to a slow start but he was able to change gears to help his team post 214 runs on the board. However, after rain intervention, CSK had to chase 171 runs in 15 overs according to the DLS method.
Hardik Pandya said in the post-match presentation, “I think we tick a lot of boxes as a team. We play with a lot of heart, really proud of the way we kept fighting. We have a motto – we win together, we lose together. I’m not going to make excuses, CSK played the better cricket. We batted really well, special mention to Sai (Sudharsan), not easy to play that well at this level. We have been backing the boys and trying to make sure we get the best out of them. But their success is their success. The way they have put their hand up and delivered – Mohit, Rashid, Shami everyone.”
He added, “(On MS Dhoni) I’m very happy for him, destiny had this written. If I had to lose, I’d rather lose to him. Good things happen to good people, and he’s been one of the best people I know. God has been kind, God has been kind to me as well but today was his night.”
GT should be proud of another impressive season and Hardik Pandya deserves a lot of credit for getting the best out of his players.
