3 best Hardik Pandya knocks at the Wankhede Stadium 

The Mumbai Indians (MI) face the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday, May 12. While GT will be looking to cement their place at the top of the table and book their playoff qualification, MI will be looking to continue their momentum and maintain their position in the Top 4.

Both teams have played some good cricket in the past few games. While GT have won four out of their last five games, MI have won three out of their last five. GT defeated LSG by 56 runs in their last match and MI defeated RCB by five wickets. Thus, with both teams looking strong, it promises to be another riveting 'Western Derby'.

Another exciting aspect of this encounter in the return of crowd-favourite Hardik Pandya to the Wankhede Stadium. The GT captain had played for MI between 2015 to 2021 and was one of the top performers for MI over the years. After leaving MI, Pandya won the IPL title for GT in his debut season as captain. Rohit Sharma will be hoping to get the better of his prodigy when his side is up against GT tonight.

On that note, let us take a look at the top three innings by Hardik Pandya at the Wankhede Stadium

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#1. MI vs KKR, IPL 2015 (Hardik Pandya - 61* runs off 31 balls)

Batting first at a slow pitch on the Wankhede Stadium, MI were in trouble at 79/4 in 11.4 overs. A young Hardik Pandya (61* runs off 31 balls), who was playing his first season in the IPL rescued his side with a fantastic knock under pressure.

Pandya struck eight fours and two sixes in his whirlwind knock that came at a strike-rate of 196.77. His innings propelled MI to a par total of 171/4 at the end of 20 overs. Just to make everyone understand how tough ball striking was, the experienced Kieron Pollard scored (33* runs off 38 balls).

The youngster's efforts bore fruit as MI won the match by a narrow margin of five runs. He was awarded the Man of the Match trophy for his heroics with the bat. This was the beginning of the making of the star all-rounder that Hardik Pandya would become in the years to come.

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#2. MI vs CSK, IPL 2019 (Hardik Pandya - 25* runs off 8 balls)

Batting first against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), MI were struggling at 125/5 at the end of 18 overs. Hardik Pandya (25* runs off 8 balls) struck one four and three sixes in his short cameo that propelled his side to a total of 170/5 at the end of their 20 overs. The Baroda lad played at a strike-rate of 312.50 on a difficult wicket and was ably-supported by Kieron Pollard (17* runs off 7 balls) in the death overs.

However, Pandya was not done yet as he picked up the crucial wickets of MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja and Deepak Chahar with the ball. In his four overs, he gave away just 20 runs at an economy rate of just 5 runs per over, in addition to picking up three wickets with the ball. In the end, CSK won the match by 37 runs and Hardik Pandya was adjudged the Man of the Match.

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#3. GT vs RCB, IPL 2022 (Hardik Pandya - 62* runs off 47 balls)

Batting first, GT scored 168/5 in their 20 overs. Their batting effort was headlined by Hardik Pandya (62* runs off 47 balls) who played a captain's knock to anchor the innings. Pandya struck four fours and three sixes in his knock that came at a decent strike-rate of 131.91. His efforts propelled his team to a total of 168/5 at the end of 20 overs.

However, his effort were undone by the RCB batters - Virat Kohli (73 runs off 54 balls), Faf Du Plessis (44 runs off 38 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (40* runs off 18 balls). In the end, RCB chased down the target with 1.2 overs to spare and eight wickets in hand. Virat Kohli was awarded the Man of the Match for his excellent half-century.

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With that, we complete our piece on three best innings by Hardik Pandya at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Can you think of any other such innings by him? Let us know in the comments section below.