Former Australian white-ball captain Aaron Finch praised the Gujarat Titans management for making the most of the team’s talents. The captain and management have done an outstanding job of setting up the team.
The Titans defeated the SunRisers by 34 runs on Monday in Ahmedabad and secured a playoff place for the second year in a row. Shubman Gill’s first IPL century helped the hosts to a winning total of 188 in 20 overs.
Finch told that Hardik Pandya, Ashish Nehra, and Vikram Solanki deserve most of the credit:
“When you put a team together from scratch, you look for characters among your squad that can help build that culture. It is not easy when you bring in people from all around the world that can just walk in and be harmonious. Huge amount of credit goes to Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya and Vikram Solanki as well as they have structured up this side, fitting personalities together but not just that. One thing is to find people who are so skillful and good at their job and the other is to find guys who work well together and play well together, that’s such an underrated thing.”
SunRisers lost four wickets in the powerplay while chasing 189, falling to 59-7 at one point. Heinrich Klaasen hit a 44-ball 64 to bring them closer to the victory, but Mohammed Shami’s 4-0-21-4 proved too much to handle for the away team.
“I do not think any team will be able to run through us this season.” Hardik Pandya
Following the victory, Titans captain Pandya said that it has been incredible to witness this team overcome all odds and achieve a playoff position.
“Very proud of the boys. 2 in 2. Last year was very different. This year we knew there will be lot of challenges. The way the boys have shown their character and put their hand up in difficult situations, we deserve to be in the qualifiers. I spoke with my boys we know where we stand and there will be expectations for us to show what we’ve got. We have ticked a lots of boxes, have made some errors as well. I don’t think any team could run through us this season.”
If they win the championship again, GT will become the third team in IPL history to successfully defend their title
