In the previous match, Pandya scored 50 runs off 42 balls but in this match, he batted brilliantly to take his team from 15/2 to 192/4 by the end of 20 overs scoring an unbeaten 87. En route to his brilliant performance with the bat he even struggled a bit but still batted till the very end. His superlative performance helped him bag the 'Player of the Match' award.

"Pretty special. A lot of hard work for me tonight. It was just cramps, nothing serious. I am not used to batting this long. It gives me a lot of time. I can calculate and take risks, " said Hardik Pandya.

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Hardik Pandya is leading his side by example scoring 228 runs with the bat in five innings at an average of 76 at an impressive strike rate of 136.52 with two half-centuries to his name. He is second in the list of leading run-scorers behind Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler. With the ball too he has contributed taking four wickets in five matches.

"Captaincy is fun and it allows me to take responsibility and be the flag-bearer. The group carries one another. My motto was I wanted everyone to be happy, " said Hardik Pandya.

With four wins in five matches, Gujarat Titans have reached the top of the IPL points table and they will now take on Chennai Super Kings in their next match on Sunday. 

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