Hardik Pandya’s captaincy career in the Indian Premier League got off to a winning start as Gujarat Titans beat Lucknow Super Giants by 5 wickets in their first game. Pandya won the toss and decided to have a bowl, which was not a surprise call. Most of the teams in this year’s edition will be looking to chase because of the venues, which are hard to defend totals. Mohammed Shami came firing from the first bowl as he picked up three crucial wickets in the powerplay.

From there Deepak Hooda and youngster Ayush Badoni built a sensational 87 run partnership to help LSG post a fighting total of 158. However, in the end, the game went down to the wire and GT chased it down with 2 balls to spare. GT skipper Hardik Pandya said it was a learning match for them but they learn by winning the match.

“It was quite humid as well, so I would not have finished Shami’s spell over there. Manohar is some talent to look at with the talent he has. He is someone who you are going to hear about in the future. Tewatia was sensational as well. Getting out to Krunal would have pinched me more had we lost, but now the family is neutral and happy. He got me out and we won the match,” Hardik Pandya said at the post-match conference.

After a one-sided encounter in the first match, IPL has produced back to back thrillers and it was the first game that it went to a final over for the finish.

Let us look at the major talking points from the LSG Vs GT game –

1. Mohammed Shami’s unplayable first spell

 The former Punjab Kings pacer bowled an absolute peach of a delivery to get rid of his former PBKS captain KL Rahul in the very first ball of the game. Shami was literally unplayable in his first spell as he took three wickets (KL Rahul, Quinton De Cock, & Manish Pandey) in the powerplay to push LSG into backfoot in the game straightaway. His opening three-over spell of 3-10 was a treat to watch. Pandya said he would have taken LSG’s total on any day at Wankhede.

“This was the right game for us to be on either side and learn, but have learnt a lot by winning. Shami is known for his seam positions and he got us to a great start. We would have any day taken 160 on this wicket.”

2. Captain Hardik Pandya leading from the front

Though his bowling spell did not end the way he would have liked it to, Hardik Pandya did step up with the bat. One surprise that we got to see is Hardik Pandya coming on to bat at number 4. He is generally known for his finishing skills and mostly in his career, he has been a spectacular number 6 or number 7 batsman. A new team, new role and new batting position mean Hardik wants to lead from the front and he actually played a decent inning of 33(28).

 “Mostly I will bat at number four because I want to take pressure with my experience so that the others can play freely. We want to win as a team and nobody can take the contribution away from anyway,” said Hardik in a post-match presentation.

Pandya also bowled four overs in the game but he was a bit expensive and finished with figures of 0/37. Although it is a good sign that he is bowling again.

3. Rahul Tewatia stars with the bat in LSG Vs GT

The former Rajasthan Royals star played a sensational hand with the bat as his unbeaten 24 balls 40, in the end, helped Gujarat win the game. Tewatia was not given the ball in the game but shows what an asset he can be for his team with his overall skills.

 Image Credits: ANI News

4. Youngsters flourished again

Every other game is producing some young talents in this year’s IPL and this game was no different. LSG all-rounder Ayush Badoni was the star of the show with his brilliant 41 balls 54 alongside Deepak Hooda (55 of 41) helped to make it a competitive game. Gujarat Titans’ youngster Abhinav Manohar also caught the eyes with his 7 balls 15 at the end which came in very handy for his team’s victory.