"Had they lost another wicket at that time, then they would have been in trouble" - Virender Sehwag on Hardik Pandya's match-winning knock in IPL 2022 Final 

Former Indian batter Virender Sehwag praised Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Hardik Pandya's innings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 final against Rajasthan Royals. The all-rounder came into bat during a volatile situation for his side while chasing 131. He scored 34 crucial runs to help them chase down the total at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, May 29.

Reeling at 23-2 in the sixth over of the run chase, Pandya diffused the state of the game with a valuable 63-run partnership with Shubman Gill at the other end. While the skipper was undone by Yuzvendra Chahal, he departed after bringing the contest well in favor of the new franchise.

Opining that GT were dominant across all three departments in the final, Sehwag said on Cricbuzz:

"GT did not score much in the first 8-9 overs, had they lost another wicket at that time, then they would have been in trouble."

Sehwag added:

"But Hardik Pandya's innings was crucial, may seem small on paper, but those 34 runs were very important. Everything fell in place for GT across all three departments."

Pandya played with composure in the middle overs, scoring the odd boundaries and ended with a healthy strike rate of 113, given the context of the contest.

Opining that the all-rounder played with responsibility, former India wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel said during the same interaction as Sehwag:

"The game had opened up by the time Miller came into the crease. Pandya's innings was crucial. We have seen him bat at No.6 where he was explosive in 20 balls. But here we saw a different Pandya. We saw a responsible Pandya, thought of himself as a batter at No.4 . Did not try too much against Chahal, rotated the strike well. He played according to the situation."

Pandya became only the fourth Indian player to lift the IPL trophy as captain after Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir. The 28-year-old was also adjudged the 'Player of the Match' following an all-round display. Apart from his crucial 34-run contribution, he also had a say with the ball after claiming three wickets in his spell during the first innings.

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"Gill did the right thing by staying there till the end" - Virender Sehwag

Chasing a tricky 131 on a used surface, Shubman Gill top scored for GT with an unbeaten 45-run innings. The young opener, playing his second consecutive final, took his time to get settled and anchored the chase for the franchise.

Praising Gill for his approach during the run chase, Sehwag said:

"It is a fact that there is no need to play with a strike rate of 200 when you are chasing a low score. Gill did the right thing by staying there till the end, he held one end firmly. Apart from that dropped catch, he did not give a chance for RR as well."

With a match-winning knock in the finals, Gill capped off a solid campaign for the new franchise. The 22-year-old crossed the 400-run mark for the third consecutive season and finished with 483 runs at an average of 34.50.