Hardik Pandya doesn't play an Indian Premier League (IPL) final. He wins it.
In 2022, Pandya fired the Gujarat Titans to their maiden title on their debut but the man himself had won four (2015, 2017, 2019, 2020) before that during his stint with Mumbai Indians (MI). Five out of five wins, an incredible 100 per cent record in IPL finals.
He is an invaluable asset for any T20 side in the world, courtesy of his explosive batting and effective bowling, and with each passing edition he is evolving as a captain as well.
In their eliminator against Mumbai Indians, his bowling changes were spot on and GT reaped the rewards by ensuring a second final appearance in as many appearances. He held back Mohit Sharma for the death overs so that he becomes even more difficult to hit with the ball losing its shine and getting softer.
The bowler repaid the trust and finished with five wickets for just 10 runs, including that of Suryakumar Yadav who was blazing his way towards the target on a flat Ahmedabad track.
Not only that, during GT's batting, Pandya promoted Sai Sudarshan to no.3 and himself came at 4, as he had been struggling to at one down. He came to bat in the 17th over when the stage was set for him. He went for the big hits right from the first ball, stuck to his natural game and instantly bore the fruits as he ended up with a quickfire 28 of just 13 balls to push his team's score beyond the 230-mark.
Hardik Pandya has never lost an IPL Final - 2015,17,19,20 and 2022 as captain.
— Cricket🏏 Lover // ICT Fan Account (@CricCrazyV) May 26, 2023
A record-breaking 2022 IPL Final!
Pandya himself is a man for the big occasions. In the 2022 final, he grabbed three for 17 with impeccable bowling to restrict Rajasthan to 130 and then played a mature d knock of 34 off 30 balls to steer GT home.
It was a Man of the Match performance and he became just the third IPL captain after Anil Kumble and Rohit Sharma to be adjudged as the MVP in the final. In the 2009 final for RCB against Deccan Chargers, Anil Kumble concluded with impressive figures of 4 for 16. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma was awarded for his exceptional performance in the 2015 final for Mumbai Indians against CSK, where he scored a quick fifty off just 26 balls.
Significantly, after lifting the trophy last year he went past MS Dhoni's record of four IPL wins!
Hardik Pandya has never lost an IPL final pic.twitter.com/Ibw4YUXZT6
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) May 29, 2022
Another final, another record for Hardik Pandya?
On Sunday, when Pandya will lock horns against the most accomplished captain in the history of Indian cricket, he will have the opportunity to win his sixth IPL title!
#CaptainPandya 🤝 Thala — the final frontier! 💙💛#CSKvGT | #PhariAavaDe | #TATAIPL 2023 Final pic.twitter.com/I0vQ4UeGXc
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) May 26, 2023
Barring MI skipper, Sharma, no player has won the trophy for half-a-dozen times. And if Pandya can match the record at just 29, it will be an incredible feat! And given his leadership skills and impeccable record in title-deciders he seems to have the edge over Dhoni in this cracker of a finale!
Well, not many times you would bet against CSK's Thala in a final, but when you have a certain Hardik Pandya in an IPL final, you might save your skin!
