Gujarat Tigers showed a spectacular performance during the whole league and performed really well by both bat and ball. Before the start of the league, the team was not looking good on papers and experts were predicting that the team would struggle this season.
But something different happened this year and debutants Gujarat Titans were crowned the Indian Premier League (IPL) champions on Sunday after they beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya (3-17) led by example with the ball in the final match, dismissing counterpart Sanju Samson, opener Buttler and Rajasthan's middle-order player Shimron Hetmyer. Pandya also shined with the bat by scoring 34 runs and forging a strong 63 run partnership with Shubham Gill which was required at that time to overcome the slow start by the team.
After winning the title, Hardik shared his photo on Instagram where he was seen picking up the trophy. In the post, Mumbai Indians’ player Kieron Pollard was seen congratulating him and he also wrote that he is very proud of him.
The Baroda all-rounder player Hardik Pandaya shares a great friendship bond with Pollard. As they both used to play in the same team Mumbai Indians. Earlier in one of the videos shared by Pandaya, he was seen mentioning "I wish Polly (Pollard) to have the best day for him, but we win. I kind of messaged him a few days as well to hope you're okay and hope you're doing well. I said we kind of miss you here. In a joking way, I said 'You never know, you might come to us next year!' It's my wish but I know it's never going to happen."