[Picture] Hardik Pandya posts Instagram story after Vijay Shankar’s heroics during IPL 2023 game between GT vs KKR

Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Hardik Pandya posted a special Instagram story dedicated to his teammate Vijay Shankar after his heroics with the bat. The knock came during the IPL 2023 game between the GT and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, April 9.

Sharing a story on Instagram, Pandya captioned:

“My vij,” with a direct hit and heart emoji and tagged Shankar.

Vijay Shankar was retained for Rs 1.4 crore by GT ahead of IPL 2023.

Shankar starred for the GT in the absence of Hardik Pandya, who had to sit out due to health issues. The right-handed batter struck 63 runs off just 24 balls at a strike rate of 262.50, including four boundaries and five maximums. The all-rounder also struck a hat-trick of sixes in the 20th over.

The Titans retained Shankar for ₹1.4 crore despite his failure last season, where he scored 19 runs in four games. The decision paid dividends as he has already amassed 129 runs in just three innings this season.

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Vijay Shankar’s quickfire 64 goes in vain as Rinku Singh steals the show for KKR

Vijay Shankar’s quickfire 64 and stand-in captain Rashid Khan’s hat-trick went in vain as Rinku Singh smashed five consecutive sixes to help KKR chase down 29 runs in the 20th over against Gujarat.

Chasing 205 runs, Venkatesh Iyer starred for KKR with 83 off 40 balls, while skipper Nitish Rana scored 45 off 29 deliveries to set the platform. Rinku, who was the star of the show, remained unbeaten on 48 off 21 balls, including six maximums and a boundary. KKR won the game by three wickets.

For GT, Rashid Khan scalped three wickets, while Alzarri Joseph bagged two wickets. Mohammed Shami and Joshua Little also settled for one wicket each.

Earlier, GT posted 204/4 in their allotted 20 overs after opting to bat first. Besides Shankar, Sai Sudharsan scored 53 off 38 balls. Shubman Gill also chipped in with 39 off 31 balls.

For KKR, Sunil Narine scalped three wickets, while Suyash Sharma took a solitary wicket.

Click here to check GT vs KKR's full scorecard.