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The biggest talking point heading into the fourth game of the 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), between Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, was Hardik Pandya and whether he would finally feature as an all-rounder in the game. However, the Gujarat Titans skipper’s ‘brilliant’ all-round return to cricket left former India head coach Ravi Shastri mighty impressed.
Hardik bowled four overs in his first cricket match since the T20 World Cup in October last year, albeit going wicketless for 37 runs. He also batted at No.4 for the Titans, scoring 33 off 28 laced with five boundaries and a solitary six.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo after the match, Shastri, who admitted that he had his eyes on Hardik the entire time, hailed the all-rounder’s return as a bowler and said that although he failed to pick a wicket, those four overs will act as a confidence booster for the youngster.
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“Firstly entire country had their eyes on him, I had my eyes on him to see whether he was going to bowl today or not. And he bowled four overs. He did not get a wicket, but those four overs mattered a lot. It is because his game and the confidence he gained from it will now be doubled,” he said.
The former Indian cricketer was also impressed with the character shown by Hardik especially with the bat, coming in at No.4 and helping Titans with the run chase after two quick dismissals.
“I feel he showed brilliant character. Especially when it came to batting. He came in at No.4 when two wickets fell and took the entire responsibility on his shoulders and that was a good sign going forward for Gujarat. And he batted brilliantly until he took a bit too much chance against his brother (Krunal). But until then his batting was sound, played excellent strokes and he played risk-free shots. Had he stayed, the game would have been over long back,” he added.
Responding to a fan’s question on the chances of a fit Hardik in India’s T20 World Cup squad for 2022 edition, he replied saying, “It will be very easy. If he is fit, no one can stop him, no selector can stop him.”
Hardik marked his debut captaincy in IPL with a five-wicket win against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium.
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