"He captained his team like MS Dhoni" - Sanjay Manjrekar on GT skipper Hardik Pandya's IPL 2022 performance
Ex-India player Sanjay Manjrekar reserved high praise for Hardik Pandya for leading the Gujarat Titans (GT) to a stunning championship victory in the recently concluded season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022).
He reckoned that the GT skipper's captaincy was quite similar to that of MS Dhoni. Manjrekar reckoned that Pandya looked quite comfortable in the leadership role and suggested that his decision-making was on point throughout the competition.
The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out how the talismanic all-rounder read the situation well and brought left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore into the attack in the 16th over of the IPL 2022 final against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
He made these remarks while speaking on ESPNcricinfo. Manjrekar said:
"Hardik Pandya bowled well. In batting too, he batted in all gears while playing at the crucial No.4 spot. He captained the team like MS Dhoni. R Sai Kishore bowled the 16th and 18th overs in the final.
"His captaincy was similar to MS Dhoni's, as he made the decisions according to match situations. He seems to be enjoying the captaincy and looks very relaxed."
While there were question marks regarding Pandya's fitness and form prior to the start of the tournament, he managed to silence his critics with a brilliant all-round performance.
With 487 runs from 15 games, he finished as the highest run-getter for Gujarat in IPL 2022.
The 28-year-old also made a significant impact with the ball by picking up eight wickets and bowling at an impressive economy rate of 7.27. He bagged three crucial wickets and scored 34 runs in the final to be adjudged the Player of the Match.
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"He showed that he can still bowl a perfect yorker" - Sanjay Manjrekar on GT's Mohammed Shami
Gujarat's Mohammed Shami was exceptional with the ball and provided his team with important breakthroughs in several crunch situations.
Manjrekar stated that the right-armer has a knack for picking up early wickets and has also proved to be effective in the death overs.
"Mohammed Shami has the ability to pick up early wickets. He bowled superbly towards the back end too this season and showed that he can still bowl a perfect yorker. He has been a reliable bowler for GT."
It is worth mentioning that Shami has emerged as the leading wicket-taker for GT in this year's cash-rich league. The pacer finished the season with 20 wickets from 16 matches and had an economy rate of 8.00 to his name.