‘I Won’t be Bragging. It Would Have Been Nice If..’: Hardik Pandya on Friendly Rivalry with Brother Krunal

Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya became only the second pair of brothers to face off as captains in T20 cricket after the Hussey brothers who originally achieved the feat in the Big Bash League in Australia. Naturally, it was the first time such a feat happened in IPL history, with Hardik’s Gujarat Titans prevailing by 56 runs over his elder brother Krunal’s Lucknow Super Giants.

Speaking after GT’s win over Lucknow, the fourth straight win of Gujrat over Lucknow in IPL, Hardik said that he wouldn’t brag too much about his side’s victory over his brother Krunal.

Also, the Gujarat skipper hoped that the match would have gone close so that Krunal could also have had some bragging rights.

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Speaking in the post-match presentation ceremony, the winning captain said that the match did become a one-sided contest but earlier both Gujarat and Lucknow were neck and neck after the powerplay however, the match turned on its head courtesy of Rashid Khan’s stunning catch to dismiss the dangerman Kyle Mayers on 48.

“I can’t ask anything more from the boys. The way the game changed after that (Rashid’s catch), at one point I thought the game was even stevens and that catch was match-changing. We were both driving at 100kph as a team but that catch caused a bump in their chase,” said Hardik.

When quizzed about whether he’d brag a little about his side’s win over Krunal’s Lucknow, the younger brother said that his love towards his brother was very strong and he wouldn’t do such a thing.

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“I don’t think so, my love towards him (Krunal) is very strong, I won’t be bragging. It would have been nice if it was a little tighter and we had won, he could have also had some bragging rights,” added the Gujarat Titans captain.

When quizzed about whether there’d be any banter between the two brothers, Krunal Pandya said that he can tease his younger sibling after taking his catch.

“There is so much of love between me and Hardik, there’s hardly any banter. I can tell him about that (the catch), definitely,” said the LSG captain.

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Mohit Sharma picked up a 4-wicket haul to restrict Lucknow to 171/7 after 20 overs in reply to GT’s 227/2. Earlier, Shubman Gill had scored an unbeaten 94-run knock, while Wriddhiman Saha also scored 81 runs.

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