"Huge amount of credit goes to Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya and Vikram Solanki" - Aaron Finch on Gujarat Titans reaching IPL 2023 playoffs

Former Australian white-ball captain Aaron Finch hailed the Gujarat Titans management for bringing the best out of the diverse talent they have on offer. The Victorian feels the captain and the management have done a sensational job of structuring the side.

The Titans registered a 34-run win over the SunRisers Hyderabad on Monday in Ahmedabad and sealed a playoff berth for the second successive year. Their win came on the back of Shubman Gill's maiden IPL ton that ushered the hosts to 188 in 20 overs.

Speaking to Star Sports, Finch feels Hardik Pandya, Ashish Nehra, and Vikram Solanki deserve credit for inculcating a never-before-seen harmony in the team, saying:

"When you put a team together from scratch, you look for characters among your squad that can help build that culture. It is not easy when you bring in people from all around the world that can just walk in and be harmonious. Huge amount of credit goes to Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya and Vikram Solanki as well as they have structured up this side, fitting personalities together but not just that. One thing is to find people who are so skillful and good at their job and the other is to find guys who work well together and play well together, that's such an underrated thing."

During SunRisers' pursuit of 189, they lost four wickets within the powerplay and slid to 59-7 at one stage. Heinrich Klaasen smashed a 44-ball 64 to take them them closer, but Mohammed Shami's figures of 4-0-21-4 proved too much for the visitors.

"I don't think any team could run through us this season" - Gujarat Titans captain

Hardik Pandya with his teammates. (Credits: Twitter)

Following the win, Titans skipper Pandya admitted that it's been sensational to see this team stand up to everything that has been thrown at them and earn their playoff spot. The all-rounder said in the post-match presentation:

"Very proud of the boys. 2 in 2. Last year was very different. This year we knew there will be lot of challenges. The way the boys have shown their character and put their hand up in difficult situations, we deserve to be in the qualifiers. I spoke with my boys we know where we stand and there will be expectations for us to show what we've got. We have ticked a lots of boxes, have made some errors as well. I don't think any team could run through us this season."

Should the Titans win the title again, they will become only the third team in IPL history to defend their crown successfully.