Newbies Gujarat Titans became the first team to qualify for the playoffs in the IPL 2022 on the back of scintillating performances in the league stage.
Titans, under the leadership of their charismatic skipper Hardik Pandya, humbled debutants Lucknow Super Giants in their latest game by 62 runs and confirmed a playoff berth in style.
With 9 wins and 18 points in their kitty, Titans are placed comfortably at the top of the points table in the IPL 2022 and they also look favourites to finish in the top two.
Proving the cricket pundits wrong with their game, the Titans have been a team to beat in the 15th edition of IPL and Hardik Pandya has emerged as the best captain of the tournament so far.
Without any prior experience in captaincy, Hardik proved the naysayers wrong with his leadership skills and street smart decisions.
The way Hardik is marshalling his troops is simply amazing and as a result, the team sees a new match-winner in every game. The decision to hand over a debut cap to an uncapped R Sai Kishore at the business end of the tournament also shows the confidence of the team management and the skipper in its bench strength.
Hardik has impressed with his astute captaincy moves. Experts reckon the added responsibility of leading the franchise is bringing the best out in the star India all-rounder.
Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden reckons Hardik is showing all the qualities of a good leader in the ongoing tournament as he keeps performing well against big teams.