IPL 2023Hardik Pandya admits he is not a fan of last-over thrillers as GT win dramatic game vs PBKS

By India Today Sports DeskGujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya has said that he isn’t a fan of last-over thrillers after the defending IPL Champions won a close game against Punjab Kings in Mohali on Thursday.

Mohit Sharma starred with the ball for GT as PBKS was restricted to 153 for 8 in their 20 overs. The chase was looking smooth for the Titans as Shubman Gill hit 67 but the game went into the last over.

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Gill was dismissed by Sam Curran to heighten the drama, but Rahul Tewatia hit the winning runs with one ball remaining and GT won the match by six wickets.

Speaking after the match, as quoted by Cricbuzz, Pandya admitted that he didn’t appreciate the fact that the game went deep and said they would have to go back to the drawing board to rectify the issue.

The GT skipper urged his team to take more risks and play shots in the middle overs to ensure that the game doesn’t go deep.

“To be very honest I would not appreciate for the game to go this deep. We need to go back to the drawing board. They bowled really well. Luckily all our batters are in good nick. We should take risks and play shots in the middle overs, need to make sure the game doesn’t go so deep,” said Pandya.

Pandya praised Mohit Sharma after his performance in the game but once again said that it would have been a hard pill to swallow if the game went in favour of PBKS and admitted that he isn’t a fan of close finishes.

“The ball was getting dried up, but the wicket was a belter. Wasn’t surprised when Mohit and Alzarri were bowling. He has done a lot of hard work, he has shown patience and his time has come. It would have been a tough pill to swallow if the game had gone the other side. I would like to finish the game earlier, not a big fan of taking it to the last over,” said Pandya.