IPL 2022: What prompted GT skipper Hardik Pandya to bat first against PBKS?
Gujarat Titans suffered its second loss of IPL 2022 to Punjab Kings, while Hardik Pandya's decision to bat raised eyebrows. Meanwhile, he explained the reason why.
FollowIt was one-sided domination from Punjab Kings (PBKS) against new side Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 48 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Played at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday, GT suffered an eight-wicket defeat while it was its second loss of the season. Meanwhile, GT skipper Hardik Pandya's decision to bat first raised a few eyebrows.
GT remains atop the table and has nearly through to the playoffs. Of the ten matches so far, it has won eight, while its losses have come against former champion SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and PBKS. In the meantime, Pandya was asked as to why he chose to bat when all teams preferred chasing during evening matches due to the dew factor.
FULL SCORECARD: IPL 2022 - GT vs PBKS (Match 48)
Explaining his decision to bat, Pandya said after the defeat, "I back our decision to bat first because we need to put ourselves in difficult situations as well where we come out of our comfort zone. We have been doing pretty well in chasing, but we have always wanted to make sure we put our batters under the pressure when the right game comes, when the big game comes, if we have to bat first, we should know exactly how we have to go."
"It was an exercise that we wanted to try. We knew the new ball might do something. But, to be honest, we kept losing wickets, and if you keep losing wickets, no matter how the conditions are, the batters are always going to be under pressure. We didn't get the kind of rhythm or the start we wanted, but it's okay. This loss was a learning curve. But, as I said, we need to be coming out of our comfort zone and try to bat first and put ourselves under that pressure," added Pandya, reports ESPNCricinfo.
FOLLOW ALL IPL 2022 UPDATES HERE
Pandya also explained that he debriefs his team during every game, regardless it wins or loses. "Even when we were winning, we were always talking about how to get better. We chat about where things didn't go our way and focus on things that we can get better at in the next games. We play another game in a couple of days. We don't have much time. We should regroup, and we don't need to worry about it. Winning and losing is part of the sport, and more often than not, we have ended up on the winning side," he concluded.
