"I thought it was difficult for him to score consistently at the number he is batting" - Aakash Chopra lauds Hardik Pandya's knock for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022

Aakash Chopra has acknowledged that he didn't expect Hardik Pandya to be so consistent while batting up the order for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2022.

Pandya scored a 49-ball 67 for his side in their Saturday afternoon clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The Gujarat Titans skipper, who missed the franchise's last match due to a niggle, has scored half-centuries in the last three games he has played. Pandya is now second in the race for the Orange Cap with 295 runs.

While reflecting on the Titans' batting performance in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was all praise for Pandya, saying:

"Hardik Pandya hits another half-century. What a player, yaar. I thought it was difficult for him to score consistently at the number he is batting but he is showing it by doing it repeatedly. There is no one like him. He has been very very good."

However, the former KKR player pointed out that the other GT batters did not cover themselves in glory. Chopra elaborated:

"A wicket fell at the start. Shubman Gill's luck is also running bad, he was out down the leg side. Wriddhiman Saha played at run-a-ball for some time. David Miller also scored almost a run-a-ball 25-odd runs."

Chopra also questioned the batting order adopted by the Titans. He explained:

"I felt the batting order became a little disorder because where is Abhinav Manohar, they don't get him to bat, send him way down the order, even after Rashid Khan."

Rashid Khan was sent ahead of Abhinav Manohar after the former's match-winning cameo in the Titans' last match against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). However, the move did not pay dividends as the Afghan leg-spinner was dismissed for a duck and Manohar managed just a couple of runs.

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"Gujarat Titans are showing repeatedly that anything can be done if the bowling is good" - Aakash Chopra

Gujarat Titans have a well-rounded bowling attack [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra was effusive in his praise for the Gujarat Titans' bowling attack. He observed:

"Bowling was absolutely spectacular, whether you talk about Yash Dayal - it would have been a dream for him if it had not been a no-ball, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph because he bowled a bouncer to dismiss Andre Russell when runs were required in the last over."

The former Indian batter added:

"Gujarat Titans are showing repeatedly that anything can be done if the bowling is good."

All the Titans bowlers were amongst the wickets against KKR. While Rashid Khan was chosen as the Player of the Match for his excellent spell of 2/22, the seam bowlers also played their roles almost to perfection.