Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya's Defending Champions Enter IPL 2023 As Title Contenders

26.03.2023 - 11:19 sports.ndtv.com

Having achieved the ultimate glory of winning the IPL title in their maiden appearance last year, Hardik Pandya's Gujarat Titans will aim to replicate all the right moves they made to lift the trophy with the competition expanded to 10 teams.

Gujarat Titans was the best team in IPL 2022 for not just lifting the trophy but for executing a perfectly-planned campaign among all competitors, winning 10 out of 14 league games and finishing at the top of the points table with the best outcome (20 points).

Since last year, having led Gujarat Titans to the title win, Pandya's stature has grown with his ascendency to India's permanent captaincy job in T20Is and even a look-in in ODIs, while their young batter Shubman Gill has established himself as a natural pick at least in two of the three international formats.

Both Pandya and Gill led Gujarat Titans with the bat, finishing with 487 and 483 runs respectively to top the charts for their side while two of the best in business, Mohammad Shami (20 wickets) and Rashid Khan (19), were their primary attacking weapons with the ball.

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Gujarat Titans, coming off a tough away clash against Punjab Kings in Mohali, would be aiming to climb to the top of the table when they take on leaders Rajasthan Royals in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Ahmedabad on Sunday. History is on Hardik Pandya's side as the team has won all three games against the Royals so far, and that would certainly play on the minds of the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan outfit at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Who can forget the Titans' seven-wicket victory in the IPL 2022 final in only their first year, with Pandya's side making it a one-sided contest, winning with 11 balls to spare.

Watch: Wriddhiman Saha Forces Reluctant Hardik Pandya To Take DRS. Here's What Happened Next

Gujarat Titans wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha forced captain Hardik Pandya into taking a Decesion Review System (DRS) call during the IPL 2023 game against Punjab Kings on Friday. Saha's insistence at taking the review helped the side dismiss PBKS' star batter Jitesh Sharma. The incident happened on the third ball of the 13th over when Jitesh got a faint edge of Mohit Sharma's delivery, and Saha took an easy catch. While the umpire and the bowler remain unmoved, Saha kept insisting for the review.

Hardik Pandya Fined For Gujarat Titans' Slow Over Rate

Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya has been fined Rs 12 lakh for maintaining a slow over rate during their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Punjab Kings here. The IPL aims for matches to finish in three hours and 20 minutes, but slow overrate is proving to be an issue with several games stretching past the four-hour mark. "As it was his team's first offence of the season under the IPL's Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Mr. Pandya was fined Rs. 12 lakh," an IPL media advisory said on Friday.

IPL 2023: Mohit Sharma, Shubman Gill Shine As Gujarat Titans Beat Punjab Kings By Six Wickets

Gujarat Titans roared back to winning ways with a six-wicket victory over Punjab Kings after Mohit Sharma's excellent return to the IPL and Shubman Gill's 49-ball 67 on Thursday. Medium pacer Mohit marked his comeback with figures of 2/18 as holders GT restricted PBKS to 153 for eight. Playing in his first game in the league since 2020, Mohit was exceptional in the penultimate over, giving away as little as six runs. When their turn to bat came, Gill led the way with his fine half-century as GT completed the chase of 154 in 19.5 overs, four days after suffering a heartbreaking loss to Kolkata Knight Riders. Having done duty as the team's net bowler last season, Mohit, who has also played for the Indian team including in the World Cup, mixed his pace and varied his lengths well throughout his spell.

"Would Not Appreciate...": Hardik Pandya's Firm Message To Teammates After GT's Last-Over Win Over PBKS

Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya on Thursday urged his batters to be a bit more adventurous in the middle overs, in their upcoming Indian Premier League matches. Defending champions GT registered a six-wicket victory over Punjab Kings after Mohit Sharma's (2-/18) excellent return to the IPL and opener Shubman Gill's 49-ball 67. However, the game got quite close at the end with GT completing a chase of 154 with a ball to spare, something Hardik did not appreciate.

Yash Dayal, Who Was Hit For 5 Sixes By Rinku Singh, Dropped From Gujarat Titans' IPL 2023 Game Against Punjab Kings

Yash Dayal was dropped from the Gujarat Titans playing XI for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 encounter against Punjab Kings in Mohali on Thursday. The young pacer had a horrible outing in the previous match against Kolkata Knight Riders as Rinku Singh slammed him for five sixes in the final over to guide his team to victory. Dayal was replaced by Mohit Sharma who made his debut for the franchise. Skipper Hardik Pandya also made his return to the squad in place of Vijay Shankar.