Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper, Hardik Pandya churned out his best performance in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Pandya took three crucial wickets and also played a crucial knock of 34 off 30 balls to help win his team the maiden title in their inaugural season. The fans of the IPL saw Hardik Pandya in a very different avatar in his comeback to the top-tier cricket.

The flamboyant Indian all-rounder looked pretty calm and collected while guiding his team throughout the tournament. He was asked several times in the Indian Premier League about handling the pressure and stated that he had to be the rock of the team because once he gets flustered, the entire machinery would break down.

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Hardik Pandya seems to have impressed former England skipper, Michael Vaughan as well, who backed the Indian all rounder to become the Indian skipper in the near future. He tweeted after the final of the IPL that he would back Pandya to get the Indian captaincy in a couple of years’ time. 

Michael Vaughan’s tweet read: “Fantastic achievement for a new franchise … If India need a captain in a couple of years I wouldn’t look past @hardikpandya7 … Well done Gujurat .. #IPL2022”.

Fantastic achievement for a new franchise … If India need a captain in a couple of years I wouldn’t look past @hardikpandya7 … Well done Gujurat .. #IPL2022

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) May 29, 2022

The all-rounder’s return to top-flight cricket was a point of interest for the fans who had been eagerly waiting to know the status of the player’s fitness. Pandya had a thumping return with a huge season. He scored 487 runs and picked eight wickets.

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Coming to the match, RR after winning the toss, opted to have a bat first. However, some disciplined bowling from GT bowlers ensured that the Royals got restricted to a score of 130 runs in their 20 overs. Mohammed Shami, Dayal, Rashid, Hardik, and Sai Kishore were the wicket-takers for the new entrants. In reply, GT went on to chase the target easily with seven wickets in hand.