The best moment for Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya on May 7 was not captaining against his brother Krunal Pandya, and the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), but making their father proud.
Hardik said during the toss that it was a very emotional day and their father would have been really proud to see his sons leading different teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The GT captain further added that the family would not be able to support one brother or another, but said that one Pandya would definitely win.
"I told him a secret of the toss and let that be. Obviously, a very emotional day and our father would have been proud of us. He dreamt of it. We are short of words and the family is emotional. Yes, I would like the boys to win here and own this place and express themselves," Hardik Pandya said at the toss ceremony.
"Sometimes it can happen in the DC game and I took full responsibility of it. I want the team to express themselves and play fearlessly. We have made one change today a forced one. Josh has had to go back for national duty and in place comes Alzarri Joseph," he added.
There was also a heartwarming moment when the duo were waiting for the toss as Hardik was seen calming his brother down while playing with the collar of his jersey and his hat. He then gave his brother a tight hug, and fans of the game on Instagram are going gaga over the video.
Hardik Pandya has been the captain of the Gujarat Titans since their inception ahead of IPL 2022 and led them to the trophy in 2022. We have seen both brothers playing together in Team India but this time it will be interesting to see whose strategy will prevail in the end.
Gujarat on top
The Gujarat Titans (GT) is currently on top of the points table after beating the Rajasthan Royals by 9 wickets with 37 balls remaining. While LSG has hit the highest score of this season against PBKS, i.e. 257 runs. But the team could not even score 126 runs against RCB. Apart from this, the lowest score of the Gujarat team is 125.
Talking about the Narendra Modi Stadium, a lot of runs are expected to be scored on this pitch. The Lucknow team will miss their skipper a lot as Rahul has been ruled out of the entire IPL due to a thigh injury. On the other hand, Gujarat has got 3 defeats so far and they have got all three on the ground of Ahmedabad. In such a situation, it will be the endeavour of Lucknow to strengthen its hopes of knowing in the playoffs by defeating Gujarat.
Performance of the brothers
Talking about Hardik Pandya's performance, he is doing brilliantly in terms of captaincy but is falling short with the bat. Hardik has scored only 246 runs in 9 matches at an average of 36. He has only 2 half-centuries to his name so far. On the other hand, Krunal Pandya has scored a total of 122 runs in 10 matches with an average of 17.43. Apart from this, in bowling, Hardik has taken only three wickets and Krunal has taken six wickets.
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