Lockie Ferguson's over changed the momentum: Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya elated after DC win
India Today
IPL 2022, GT vs DC: Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya lauded Lockie Ferguson's game-changing over and Shubman Gill's heroic 84-run knock after a 14-run win over Delhi Capitals in Pune on Saturday.
Captain Hardik Pandya believes that Lockie Ferguson's third over changed the momentum in his team's favour after Gujarat Titans stunned Delhi Capitals to make it two victories on the trot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
Ferguson, who was bought for a whopping Rs 10 crore in the IPL auction, dismissed dangerous opener Prithvi Shaw (10), Mandeep Singh (18), captain Rishabh Pant (43 off 29 balls) and Axar Patel (8) to rock the DC's run chase of 172.
Veteran pacer Mohammed Shami (2/30) chipped in with two late wickets to hand DC, who finished on 157 for nine, their first defeat in the tournament. Titans captain Hardik Pandya got his first wicket as he dismissed DC opener Tim Seifert (3) while Rashid Khan (1/30) also chipped in with the scalp of Shardul Thakur.
"Not bad, to be honest. Very happy with the way everyone is stepping up at the right occasion. The kind of attack we have, we thought we might be 10-15 runs short sometimes but with the attack we have, we can restrict them to 20-25 runs short. That over from Lockie changed the momentum," Hardik Pandya said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"To be honest, I felt we were 10-15 runs short. I thought par was 185, to be honest. When Rishabh was there, I thought the game was in balance. Varun [Aaron] felt something happened to him. We were one bowler short so we had to finish the game on the 19th over," Pandya added.
Hardik heaped rich praise on Rahul Tewatia and Vijay Shankar for showing courage and stepping up with the bowl to help GT win. Hardik also lauded Shubman Gill for his stellar 84-run knock, saying that the young opener's confidence is going to rub on all batters of the team. Gill played his best ever knock in the IPL scoring 84 runs off 46 balls to help Gujarat Titans set Delhi Capitals a 172-run target.
"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. [Gill?] 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," Pandya signed off.
