Hardik Pandya has led Gujarat Titans to the final in their maiden IPL season.
Gujarat Titans (GT) defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 7 wickets in the IPL 2022 Qualifier 1 at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday (May 24), with Hardik Pandya leading from the front and David Miller slamming a blazing half-century (May 24).
With this victory, the Titans advanced to the finals in their maiden Indian Premier League season.
Speaking after the game, skipper Pandya said he felt neutral after the thrilling victory.
"I've started to balance things in my life.. this has been a constant effort through the last couple of years. 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 go home and spend some time with family, and that's made me a better cricketer as well," he told Star Sports.
"Don't have much feelings right now. Trying to be neutral again I'll say," he said.
The flamboyant all-rounder went on to say that his team has a mix of players that bring different elements to the table and that having good individuals in the squad is important.
"All the 23 players are different characters, bring different things to the table. Was saying to Miller as well, 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,” he stated.
"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 throughout his cricketing journey. 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," he said.
SEE ALSO: Cricket fraternity salutes David Miller as his brutal 68* helps GT beat RR to enter final
The 28-year-old has had his best season with the bat, amassing 453 runs at a remarkable average of 45.3 in 14 games. On Tuesday, he played an innings of substance, hitting 40* off 27 balls, and stitched a 104-run partnership for the 4th wicket with the Player of the Match Miller (68* off 38 balls).
The South African southpaw hit 3 consecutive sixes in the last over of the match to seal the victory.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri stated the Titans captain has excelled under the pressure of leadership. The batting all-rounder has moved up the order as captain and has taken on the responsibility of scoring quick runs for the team.
"Hardik has been most impressive as a leader but what I liked most about him was his focus and his composure. He has had the eyes on the ball from the outset. He thrived on that responsibility of being captain - he had mentioned over there that it was for his home state where he was born and he was brought up. It's that added pressure and he thrived on it. He accepted that responsibility by coming up the order because he knew he might not be bowling in all the matches. So to stay relevant, to stay as a leader leading from the front he had to come up that one position or two positions up the order." Shastri told Star Sports.
With Gujarat already in the finals, all eyes will be on RR, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to see who will advance to the summit clash.
(STAR SPORTS INPUTS)