Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya believes Ruturaj Gaikwad has the potential to do wonders for the Indian team in the future. Indian all-rounder lavish praised Chennai Super Kings opener for his phenomenal knock in the opening game of the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League.
Hardik Pandya was awe-struck by Ruturaj Gaikwad’s knock scoring 92 runs in just 50 balls with mounting 9 sixes clearing the boundary at ease, Speaking on Gaikwad’s performance, Hardik Pandya said.
“At one point, it looked like CSK would score 220-230. We were finding it difficult on what area we should bowl at Ruturaj. I genuinely felt that today we could not get him out at all, Some of the shots that he played were not bad balls, he was punishing the good balls as well. As a bowling unit and as a captain, that made my job more difficult,” Hardik Pandya said.
Hardik Pandya lauded Ruturaj Gaikwad for the kind of shots he played and credited him for the way he batted throughout the innings and reckoned that he would do wonders for the Men in blue when provided the opportunity.
“Some of the shots Rutu played was nothing to do with the bowling. He played some outrageous shots. Full credit to him for the way he batted and if he continues to do so, he will do wonders for Indian cricket. He has the game and I am sure when the time comes Indian cricket team will back him enough,” he said.
Coming to the match, batting first Chennai Super Kings scored 178 runs for the loss of 7 wickets with Ruturaj Gaikwad being the only bright spot in the batting for CSK and Rashid Khan was the pick of the bowler for Gujarat Titans picking important wickets of England duo Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes.
With 179 runs, Gujarat Titans dealt a huge blow by losing Kane Williamson due to an injury during the 1st innings, but the man in form Shubman Gill played exceptional innings to score 63 runs in just 36 balls. With Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan providing the finishing touch for the defending champions.
Very Good To Start With The Win – Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya admitted that a couple of bad shots put them in a difficult position at the chase but praised Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan for finishing the game for the team and added that the team still has a lot of things to improve which they eventually do as the tournament progresses.
“Very good to start with the win. A Couple of shots from myself and Shubman put us in a difficult situation but again Rahul (Tewatia) brought the best out of his ability and the Rashid came in and showed what he can do. We can learn quite a things from this victory,” Hardik Pandya said.
Gujarat Titans will take on Delhi Capitals in the second match in the Arun Jaitley Stadium, on April 4. They will look to continue their winning run against Delhi Capitals.
from Cricket – Sportzwiki https://ift.tt/5ghGyTF
via
Posts
0 Comments