First Time Ever In History! Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya Achieve Unique Feat In IPL 2023

07.05.2023 - 10:37 sports.ndtv.com

Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya wrote their names in the historic books as the first set of brothers to captain opposing sides in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 encounter as Gujarat Titans take on Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday.

While Hardik guided GT to the IPL title in their debut season last year, Krunal has taken over the LSG captaincy in the absence of KL Rahul.

While the brothers have faced each other as opponents earlier, this is the first time that they will face off as captains. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Krunal Pandya won the toss and opted to bowl first. "We will bowl first.

It's a dream come true for us, leading our respective sides. Overall the wicket will play the same. We have a good batting side, and we fancy our chance to chase down the total.

cricket Lucknow Super Giants Marcus Stoinis Quinton De-Kock Ravi Bishnoi Hardik Pandya Kyle Mayers Lucknow Super-Giants Daniel Sams Krunal Pandya Gujarat Titans Ireland India

Over the years, the popularity of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has grown by leaps and bound. Since its inception back in 2008, IPL has seen massive rise in the viewership, which has made the tournament more lucrative in terms of prize pool. In the first two editions, the winning side received Rs 4.8 crore, whereas the runner-up was awarded with Rs 2.4 crore. Last season, Gujarat Titans won Rs 20 crore for winning the IPL, while the runner-up, Rajasthan Royals, were awarded Rs 13 crore.

Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians, IPL 2023 Qualifier 2: Predicted XI Of Both Teams

With a place in the final up for grabs, Mumbai Indians would be fancying their chances against defending champions Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. Akash Madhwal's breathtaking bowling performance against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator has given MI a much-needed boost ahead of the clash against the holders. GT, on the other hand, were outclassed and outgunned in Qualifier 1 by MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings. The Hardik Pandya-led side will have one last chance to gather themselves up and put their best foot forward in familiar conditions here in order to qualify for their second IPL final on the trot.

How Hardik Pandya's Gujarat Titans Emerged As IPL 'Title Favourites' Again

When the Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans started their journey in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, one would have been pardoned for not considering them as serious contenders for the title. For IPL has not been kind to 'new teams' in the past. Be it Kochi Tuskers Kerala (2011), Sahara Pure Warriors (2011), Gujarat Lions (2016) or Rising Pune Supergiant (2016) none of the teams that got added in the cash-rich could get any title success. Pune came closest as it finished runners-up in the 2017 edition. So, when GT and Lucknow Super Giants got introduced in 2022, one would not have considered them to go the distance right in the first season.

Suresh Raina Picks Best IPL 2023 XI, Names This Player Skipper Instead Of MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni missed out as former Chennai Super Kings star Suresh Raina picked his best team of IPL 2023. Raina, who played for CSK for the majority part of his IPL career and won four titles with them, named Gujarat Titans' skipper Hardik Pandya as the captain of his team instead of Dhoni. Meanwhile, the wicketkeeper-batter that Raina picked in his team was West Indies and Lucknow Super Giants player Nicholas Pooran. He picked Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill as the openers for the team, while Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh followed. Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal completed the XI.

IPL 2023: Rohit Sharma Praises Two Mumbai Indians Youngsters, Draws Comparisons With Jasprit Bumrah And Hardik Pandya

Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma said that batters Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera will play a big role for Mumbai Indians (MI) and the national side in the future and their story will be similar to that of former MI stars like Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya, who have represented India at international level. The MI skipper had an exclusive interview with JioCinema ahead of the MI's Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) which will take place in Chennai on Wednesday.

IPL 2023 Final Berth At Stake, MS Dhoni's CSK To Face Hardik Pandya's GT

The astute tactician in Mahendra Singh Dhoni will dig deep into his reserves to counter Indian cricket's new 'Crown Prince' Shubman Gill as four-time champions Chennai Super Kings will meet their match in current title holders Gujarat Titans in Qualifier-1 of the IPL in Chennai on Tuesday. Gill, who almost single-handedly knocked out a star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore with a century for the keeps, has overshadowed Virat Kohli and will certainly force one of India's greatest captains to go back to drawing board and make plans for him.