After Gujarat Titans clinched their maiden IPL title on Sunday, mentor Gary Kirsten lavished praise on Hardik Pandya and said the title-winning skipper is humble and was keen to learn as a leader throughout the tournament.
The Gujarat Titans won the IPL 2022 in their first go on Sunday with Hardik Pandya's all-around performance of 34 runs and three wickets powering them to a seven-wicket win over inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals here at the Narendra Modi stadium.
"He has been fantastic... He's a high-profile player in India but he's incredibly humble, wanting to learn as a leader and engage with his players which I think is really, really important. He's tried to help the youngsters, he's come in and played a different responsibility," said Gary Kirsten in a post-match presentation.
On his experience with South Africa, he said: "You never stop learning as a coach, every IPL is a learning experience, that's what I enjoy. I've loved working with Ashish (Nehra), he's really strong tactically - trying to put a game plan together on the fly is not easy."
"There are so many variables in each game, but what I've enjoyed has been the responsibility players have taken to win games for us," he said.
Coming to the match, after posting a low-scoring target of 131, Rajasthan had to produce a special effort with the ball to get back in the game. The pace duo of Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna shone with the ball in the powerplay, reducing Gujarat to 31 for two with Wriddhiman Saha (5) and Matthew Wade (8) back to the pavilion.
Shubman Gill's risk-free collection of runs and David Miller's quickfire 32 not out powered Gujarat to romp home in the penultimate over. Opener Gill remained unbeaten on 45, sealing Gujarat's victory with a six.
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