Hardik Pandya, captain of the Gujarat Titans (GT), believes that Sai Sudharsan will have accomplished something special in franchise cricket in two years. Furthermore, Pandya believes that Sudharsan’s efforts will eventually bear success at the international level for India as well. On Tuesday (April 4), Sudharsan was the Player of the Match as GT defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by six wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. In pursuit of 163 for victory, the 21-year-old left-hander played a pivotal role with 62* off 48 balls, including four fours and two sixes.
Pandya was filled with praise for Sudharsan after the match at the post-match presentation. He lauded the youngster’s impressive performance and said he had carried the side over the line. He also expressed the belief that Sudharsan will create bigger and better moments in the near future. He stated:
“He is been batting terrifically. Credit to the support staff and to him as well. The amount of batting he’s done in the last 15 days, all the result you see is all his hard work. Going forward, if I’m not wrong, in two years, he’ll do something great for franchise cricket and eventually for India cricket as well.”
Reflecting on the game, the GT skipper described the beginning as humorous but thanked the bowlers for regaining control after a few errant overs in the powerplay. He said:
“It was funny at the start, we didn’t know exactly what was happening but something was happening. We gave 15-20 runs extra in the powerplay. The way the bowlers pulled back was amazing.”
“It’s my instinct. I like to back myself. I rather back my own decision and fall down rather than thinking something else. Most often, I rather punch first rather than take the punch. We tell the boys to enjoy there. It helps you take the right decisions. Someone’s putting their hand up. We have spoken about this.” He further added.
“I was just calculating the right things”: Sai Sudharsan
Sudharsan shared that his aim in the match-winning innings was to extend it as much as possible and lead his team to success. He said:
“I was thinking about what has to be done right. I wasn’t under pressure. I was just calculating the right things. It was a bit low and skidding through, I was thinking to take the right options. My plan was to take the game deep and taking it through.
“Weathering the storm early on (was satisfying). It was quite difficult, it was seaming initially that was the highlight for me.”
Gujarat was 54/3 after 6 overs, needing 163 to win. However, Sudharsan partnered with Vijay Shankar (29 off 23), and David Miller (31* off 16) helped lift Gujarat towards victory.