‘If I had to lose, I’d rather lose to MS Dhoni’: Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya after IPL final loss

Gujarat Titans came within two balls of retaining their Indian Premier League title with a six and a four from Ravindra Jadeja on the last two balls of the IPL final snatching away the game from the home team.

Like Dhoni, Pandya did not seem like a natural fit in this role. He was considered the lower-order power-hitter. So was Dhoni, before he evolved from a big-hitter to one of the greatest finishers in the game. (PTI)

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Gujarat Titans came within two balls of retaining their Indian Premier League title with a six and a four from Ravindra Jadeja snatching away the game from the home team. Chennai Super Kings thus claimed their record-leveling fifth IPL title.

After the defeat, Gujarat skipper Hardik Pandya paid rich tribute to his CSK counterpart, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

“I’m very happy for him, destiny had this written. If I had to lose, I’d rather lose to him (Dhoni). Good things happen to good people, and he’s been one of the best people I know. God has been kind, God has been kind to me as well but today was his night,” Pandya said after the match.

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The game was initially scheduled for Sunday, but was rescheduled for the reserve day on Monday due to unseasonal rains. In the first innings on Monday, Gujarat Titans had set the Chennai franchise a target of 215. But before the first over of the second innings could be completed, there was a rain interruption which led to the game being shortened to 15 overs with the revised target set for 171 under DLS.

“We have a motto — we win together, we lose together. I’m not going to make excuses, CSK played the better cricket. We batted really well. Want to specially mention to Sai (Sudarshan). It’s not easy to play that well at this level. We have been backing the boys and trying to make sure we get the best out of them. But their success is their success. The way they have put their hand up and delivered — everyone from Mohit Sharma, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, everyone. I think we tick a lot of boxes as a team. We play with a lot of heart, really proud of the way we kept fighting,” said Pandya.

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