Mohammed Shami of the Gujarat Titans took three wickets in the powerplay to reduce the Lucknow Giants to 32 for four in the first six overs at the Wankhede Stadium. Gujarat, who won the toss and elected to bowl first, will rely significantly on the performance of their skipper Hardik Pandya, who has extensive experience playing at the stadium.
Deepak Hooda hits fifty and brings Lucknow back into the game with his partnership with Ayush Badoni who also hit a fifty. Mohammed Shami took three wickets of the contest tonight, dismissing Manish Pandey, Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul . Ewin Lewis is bowled by Varun Aaron, who takes a wonderful catch from Shubman Gill. Rashid got his first wicket and broke the partnership, Hooda walked off after a fine knock. Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni rose to the challenge and both batters scored fifties to help KL Rahul’s side post 158/6 in the 20 overs.
Hardik Pandya may not have any previous captaincy experience, but if dawn shows the day, he’ll be as streetwise as any of the IPL’s top captains.
The Indian Premier League has produced a number of street-smart leaders. Rishabh Pant, the Delhi Capitals’ coach, is undoubtedly one of the newcomers. Pandya is included in this category as well.
