"Lockie over really changed things for us" - GT captain Hardik Pandya after convincing win vs DC

Hardik Pandya has made a good start as Gujarat Titans captain (Credit: BCCI/IPL)

Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Hardik Pandya has made an outstanding start to his captaincy career, winning his team's first two matches of IPL 2022.

The Titans successfully managed to defend 171 runs against a star-studded Delhi line-up. Lockie Ferguson was the pick of the bowlers, returning figures of 4/28 while Mohammed Shami chipped in with two wickets.

Top win for @gujarat_titans what a performance by @ShubmanGill @hardikpandya7 @MdShami11 #lockieferguson .. Mai keha nehra ji mubarkaaaaa 💥🤗

Hardik Pandya pointed out that it was Ferguson's 15th over, where he dismissed Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel, that shifted the momentum in Gujarat's favour. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Hardik stated:

"I thought there were periods where Delhi were ahead, but then that Lockie over really changed things for us. We were about 10-15 short. But with the bowling we have, I'm confident of making it up in the field."

He added:

"Till Rishabh was there, the game was in the balance or maybe Delhi was ahead, and that over from Lockie really turned it for us."

Rishabh Pant had indeed kept Delhi afloat in the game after the top-order failed to convert on their starts. But once Pant was out after a well-made 43 off 29 balls, Gujarat slowly took control of the game and pushed the Capitals on the backfoot.

Pant and Co. didn't manage to recover and hence, succumbed to their first defeat of the season.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya revealed that star pacer Varun Aaron had copped a groin injury after bowling one over and had to leave the field. The 28-year-old GT skipper seemed content with how the likes of Vijay Shankar and Rahul Tewatia stepped up and contributed to the win.

Hardik added:

"Varun [Aaron] felt something happened to him. We were one bowler short so we had to finish the game on the 19th over. Some brain has to come there... the courage Tewatia and Vijay showed, when they had not been told to bowl, they stepped up and helped us to win the game."

The Jharkhand-born fast bowler has had a career riddled with injuries. Varun will hope to recover and be available for Gujarat's next fixture.

"This is the Shubman we all want to see" - Hardik Pandya on Gill

Sarum ramya Gujratis 👍 bowlers have won that game for the titans ! Very well led by @hardikpandya7 great spell @MdShami11 #lockiefurguson !! Great knock @ShubmanGill but still need to make improvements in death hitting ! Aur yeh nehra ji ki smile offside 😁 #DCvsGT #IPL2022

While it was Lockie Ferguson with the bat, Shubman Gill steered Gujarat's fate with the bat. His 84-run knock propelled the team to a challenging total, enough to seal their second win of IPL 2022. His innings was decorated with six boundaries and four sixes.

Hardik believes the other batters can draw confidence from him in the games to follow. He concluded:

"Fantastic, this is the Shubman Gill we all want to see. The kind of confidence he's carrying is going to come to all the batters."

With two victories in as many games, Gujarat Titans are currently placed third in the IPL 2022 points table after Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders.