IPL 2022: 5 surprising moves that paid off for Gujarat Titans

Gujarat Titans have surprised one and all by qualifying for the final in their maiden appearance in the Indian Premier League. Before the auction, the Gujarat-based franchise ensured the services of Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, and Rashid Khan. Hardik was also named the captain of the franchise leading up to the tournament. Gujarat started the tournament in style by winning back-to-back matches and continued the momentum throughout the season. They became the first team to qualify for the playoffs by winning 10 matches out of 14 with 20 points. Hardik Pandya led his troops to the final also by defeating Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 1.

The partnership of captain Hardik Pandya and head coach Ashish Nehra has worked wonders till now as players have heaped praises on the management. During the tournament, GT found itself in many crunchy situations. However, several players like David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, and R Sai Kishore came up with some great performances to help GT in crossing the final lines. The GT management took some surprising decisions that paid off for them and that’s why they are now, on the verge of winning this trophy in their maiden IPL season.

Here are the five surprising moves that paid for GT:

1. Hardik Pandya batting at no. 4

After spending so many years with Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya finally moved to Gujarat Titans as the captain of the franchise. All eyes were on him as he was coming back from an injury setback. Pandya is known as a finisher over the years, batting lower down the order.

However, this time, he settled himself at no. 4 as he looked to anchor the innings more rather than just finishing. In 14 innings so far, he has scored 453 runs at an average of 45.3 and a strike rate of 132.84. His captaincy skills were also praised by the cricket fraternity as he handled pressure situations with much more stability.

Once in the tournament, he was also in the race for the Orange Cap. But, the second half did not go as per his wish and that ruled out him from that contest. He also picked up five wickets in nine innings with an economy of 7.73.