I’ve started to balance things in my life – Hardik Pandya after reaching in the final

е
Hardik Pandya said he is staying “neutral”

Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya feels he has finally learned to strike a balance on and off the field while Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson was glad about the total that they got.

Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya feels he has finally learned to strike a balance on and off the field. The newly IPL franchise Gujarat Titans have reached the final in a debutant season, and Pandya scored 453 runs in 15 matches and seven wickets have played a role, apart from his calm manner as the captain.

“I’ve started to balance things in my life. It has been a constant effort through the last couple of years,”

Pandya, who was once known for his flamboyant attitude said after the Titans’ comfortable seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals in the first qualifier.

“In the end, my family, my son, my wife, and my brother as well have played a big role. They kind of allowed me to get neutral in life. I look forward to going home and spending some time with family, and that’s made me a better cricketer as well,”

he added on a pragmatic note.

Pandya said that the feeling of reaching the final will take some time to sink in.

“Don’t have much feeling right now. Trying to be neutral (calm) again I’ll say.”

“All the 23 players are different characters, and bring different things to the table. Was saying to Miller as well, that if you have good people around you, you get good things. It’s been that story for us. The kind of people we have, the genuine human beings we have.

“I genuinely see even the players in the dugout are trying and praying for them to make sure they do well. That is something fantastic and that is the reason we have reached where we have reached. It’s all about making sure we respect this game.”

“Rash has been fantastic throughout the season and his cricketing journey.”

He lavished praise on Miller, who has singlehandedly won at least four games in the mega event so far.

“But I’m proud of Miller – the way we have played. Wherever my team requires me to play, I don’t generally demand where I want to bat. That’s not how I’ve got success.”

Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson was glad about the total that they got but felt that the Eden Gardens strip became better for batting in the second half of the match.

“Felt good to put up that kind of total as I felt the wicket was a bit sticky and there was a lot of swing in the powerplay. I think we managed to put in a good score, but I think they played well to chase the score down,”

Samson said after the game.

“It was a bit two-paced and bounce was also not even, I just went after the bowling from ball one and I got a bit lucky to get a few runs in the powerplay, but the wicket was a bit tough to bat on and we finished off well.

“Scoring that kind of a total on this wicket in these conditions, against that bowling attack was a great performance by our batters. We have been doing well, the five bowlers have been our main bowlers and they have done well throughout the tournament.”

Sanju backed his decision of not using a sixth bowler in Riyan Parag.

“Having Riyan also helps, but felt it was a bit better to bat in the second innings as it came on nicely onto the bat.

“We have been playing some really good cricket throughout the tournament, a couple of overs here and there, a couple of extra runs, a couple of off-rhythm by a couple of our bowlers, we will try to come back and play some good cricket.

“In this format luck (the toss) plays a huge role, so it all comes down to what you want to do in your control. Hoping for a good result in the next game.”

Comments

0