Hardik Pandya has ticked all boxes with his performance so far: Wasim Jaffer

The Gujarat Titans (GT) are at the top of the table with four wins in five league matches of IPL 2022. The captain, Hardik Pandya has turned out to be the best all-round performer for GT with 228 runs and four wickets in five appearances. The former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer hailed the performance of Hardik in the initial matches and gave his views on the afternoon match as well.

Jaffer reckoned that Hardik has answered the questions well, which were asked of him by fans and cricket pundits ahead of the season. He was impressed by Hardik’s captaincy and lauded his efforts to take responsibility in both departments of the game. Jaffer also gave credit to Ashish Nehra and Gary Kirsten, who are part of the coaching staff of GT, in keeping the environment relaxed, which has helped the team to perform well.

“There were many questions on Hardik Pandya, about his fitness, whether he will bowl or not, and his batting position ahead of this season. I think he answered and ticked all the boxes with his performance in the initial matches. He found two relaxed coaches in form of Ashish Nehra and Gary Kirsten. So, the team’s atmosphere is quite relaxed and players have prospered,” said Wasim Jaffer on Sky247.net presents ‘Not Just Cricket Show’ on CricTracker.

“Among all the captains that have led for the first time, Hardik has impressed me the most. He is bowling 140+, bowling in the powerplay, and has taken the responsibility of batting at number four, so he has turned out to be a complete package this season. He has played smartly and targeted the right bowlers, and has gradually improved his performances against spinners,” Jaffer added.

SRH chased the score in a systematic manner: Wasim Jaffer

Earlier in the day, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) secured their fourth victory of the tournament by chasing down the target of 152 against Punjab Kings (PBKS). Jaffer reckoned that if Kagiso Rabada had not missed the run-out chance of Aiden Markram in the middle-overs, SRH would have been struggling with inexperienced players like Shashank Singh and Jagadeesha Suchith coming to the crease. He further hailed the performance of SRH bowlers and felt Markram and Pooran have been delivering well for the team in the last few matches and termed it as a systematic chase.

“The run-out was missed by Rabada, and if one of them would have been dismissed, it would bring in inexperienced players like Shashank and Suchith, who have not yet batted in the tournament. I think both Markram and Pooran are playing really well and have done the bulk of the batting in the tournament. The team bowled well and chased the target in a systematic manner,” Jaffer said.

Jaffer surmised how PBKS head coach Anil Kumble would have felt after seeing Markram and Pooran finish the game for SRH. This is due to the fact that both the players featured for PBKS in the last edition, and failed to seal the match with four runs needed off the last over.

“I think Anil Kumble would have been angry remembering the last edition, where both Markram and Pooran were batting when PBKS needed four runs from the last over, but the team fell short by three runs,” Jaffer added.