Hardik Pandya struggling with poor form (PC: iplt20)
New Delhi.Gujarat Titans need Hardik Pandya the most. Gujarat, dreaming of becoming champions for the second time in a row, is looking forward to the return of its captain in Qualifier 2. Where did Hardik Pandya, who made Gujarat the champion by raining runs last season, go this season? While on top of the point table, Gujarat reached the playoffs, but Shubman Gill or Vijay Shankar cannot be relied upon every time.
Qualifier 1 against Chennai Super Kings is proof of how a captain’s poor form can hurt the team. When Gill and Vijay Shankar did not bat, the team lost the match itself, as a result of which the chance to reach the final directly slipped from their hands and now they have to face the winner of Eliminator Mumbai. Gujarat’s biggest tension is the form of its captain, because if either Gill or Shankar misses out against Mumbai, then Gujarat will have nothing left to lose.
Pandya’s flop show
However, it is quite interesting that Hardik Pandya is playing the match at his home and his fans are praying for his return in this important match. Pandya has not been able to do anything in this tournament so far. Gujarat is moving forward on the strength of Gill, Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan. Now it has to be seen whether Pandya gets something in the time of need or not. In this season, he was able to score only 297 runs in 14 matches.
Pandya’s graph fell
Pandya’s average this season was 27. Whereas last season he had scored 487 runs in 15 matches at an average of 44.27. In bowling, Pandya scored 2 fifties this season against Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, in the last 5 matches his performance graph fell even more badly. He was able to score only 45 runs and he did not bowl a single over in the last 5 matches.
Flop against Mumbai
Talking about his performance against Mumbai this season, the first clash took place in Ahmedabad itself, where Pandya was able to score only 13 runs and fell victim to Piyush Chawla. In that match, he took the catch of Rohit Sharma on his own ball, who himself is struggling with bad form. In the second encounter, Pandya was able to score only 4 runs and became the victim of Jason Behrendorff. His bat did not work both times against Mumbai, but now it is very important for his bat to work.
