Taking into account the way Pandya led Gujarat Titans throughout IPL 2022, former India star Sanjay Manjrekar sees shades of former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his leadership.
The Titans took the IPL trophy to the important roads of the City, to show it to their fans, who could watch the team triumph at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday, beating Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets.
Solanki added that Pandya's cricket is more about passion and entertainment, which made him the automatic choice to lead the Gujarat Titans.
Summing up the team's maiden journey in IPL 2022, where the side first topped the league phase and then set up a title clash with Rajasthan Royals, Pandya gave almost the entire credit for the success to head coach and former Indian pace bowler Ashish Nehra.
It was no surprise that Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis was pleased with Kohli being back to his best when his team needed him the most, killing the chase of 169 with a 115-run opening stand.
After the bowlers produced a brilliant show to restrict Chennai to a below-par 133/5, Saha carried his bat throughout the innings to chase the total with five balls to spare.
Their star leg-spinner Rashid Khan revealed that Gujarat hasn't been dependent on one or two players to take them to victory. On Sunday, if Gujarat win over Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, they will be almost assured of a top-two finish on the points table.
Leading Gujarat's stunning show has been Pandya, who has made 305 runs with the bat in seven innings, averaging 61 while batting at three and four.
Gujarat needed 22 runs in the final over of the innings, which was bowled by Marco Jansen, and Tewatia hit one six while Rashid smashed three sixes to get their team over the line.
Despite losing seven wickets in the last five overs after Hardik Pandya's 67 to end at 156/9, Gujarat's bowling attack clicked in unison, taking four wickets in the first seven overs.
