Hardik Pandya said victory for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League final was a "legacy" moment for the rookie team.
The Titans scorched to a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals, getting home with 11 balls to spare as captain Pandya's man-of-the-match display paved the way.
He took 3-17 as the Royals were limited to 130-9, before weighing in with 34 runs as Gujarat cruised to their target and the IPL title at their home ground, the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Pandya was acquired after being released by Mumbai Indians, with whom he was four times a champion, and he said the Titans' success in their maiden season would be remembered for years to come.
"Obviously I count myself lucky. I've been in five finals, and I've won five times, so it's very exciting," Pandya said at the post-match presentation.
"This is going to be a very special one because we spoke about creating legacy and making sure that in generations to come everyone will remember this is the team that started this journey.
"To win the championship in the first year is very special."
Pandya bowled a steady line and got his rewards, before playing a reasonably patient innings, making his runs from 30 balls.
Known for his explosive batting, Pandya has reined that in at times this season and reaped the rewards, scoring an IPL career-high 487 runs across the campaign.
Pandya said of his bowling on Sunday: "For me it was all about sticking to the right length and asking the batters to play a good shot rather than me trying something and giving away a boundary."
When asked about his batting, and veering away from sky-high strike rates, Pandya said he was acting for the betterment of himself and his team.
"Any given day I'd take the trophy than me batting at 160 or 170 [strike rate]," he said. "For me, my team is the most important, whichever team I play for.
"I have always been that kind of individual. Outside noise does not bother me, and if I have to sacrifice and maybe have a worse season and my team still wins, I'll take that."
Rajasthan were looking for another Jos Buttler masterclass in Ahmedabad, but the English opener fell for 39 from 35 balls, Pandya taking the prized scalp.
Buttler finished the season as the competition's leading run-scorer, making four centuries and plundering 863 runs in all at a strike rate of 149.05 runs per 100 balls.
He achieved competition-highs in fours (83) and sixes (45), and was only sorry that the Royals fell at the final hurdle.
Buttler said: "I've exceeded all my expectations of this season apart from today, managing to take home the trophy we really wanted.
"I'm disappointed with that but want to say a big congratulations to Hardik and his team. I think they're very deserving champions.
"I think in good teams you have a lot of trust in everyone and I certainly have huge trust in everyone in our team. We all played fantastically well all season. We came up short today.
"I've lost plenty of finals in my career unfortunately, but today's been an amazing occasion and it's been a fantastic tournament."
Buttler spoke of the players' delight that crowds returned this season, having been kept away previously by the pandemic, and urged his younger colleagues "to soak it up and use the hurt from today to push you on further in the rest of your career".
Bolt joined by multiple sports stars for first look at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador Usain Bolt got a first look at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium from the best seats in the house, along with cricket legends and New York sports icons.
The Jamaican sprint legend was joined in this special preview by USA cricketers Corey Anderson and Monak Patel along with cricket legend Sir Curtly Ambrose (West Indies), Shoaib Malik (Pakistan), and Liam Plunkett (England). Also present during this landmark event was a star-studded line-up of New York sports stars, including John Starks (NBA / New York Knicks), Elena Delle Donne (WNBA/USA), Bartolo Colon (MLB/New York Yankees-Mets), Victor Cruz (NFL/New York Giants), and Ibtihaj Muhammad (Fencing/USA).
To commemorate the occasion, the stars all signed a giant cricket bat, which will be present at the venue for all eight ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 matches hosted there between June 3-12. The event marks the official final countdown to the first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in New York, with Sri Lanka and South Africa set to clash in the venue's first match on June 3.
Bolt was confident the venue would provide an exciting and energetic cricket experience.
“Coming from the Caribbean where cricket is a part of life, I’m very excited to be part of the T20 World Cup coming to the USA for the first time, co-hosting with the West Indies. Getting one of the sport’s biggest events into the USA is a big milestone and can provide a launching pad leading towards cricket’s inclusion in the LA Olympics in 2028," he said.
“The new stadium is going to be a fantastic place to watch from. It’s very enclosed and you feel very close to the action. I can imagine it will be full of energy when cricket fans get to Nassau County International Stadium next month," Bolt noted.
Brett Jones, CEO of T20 USA Inc. called the event a fitting welcome to cricket in the USA.
“Today was a fantastic celebration, showcasing a truly out of this world stadium. Having Usain and a host of New York sports stars and Olympic legends to experience it was fantastic and a fitting welcome to cricket in the USA," Jones said.
“Having Curtly Ambrose, Liam Plunkett, Shoaib Malik, Corey Anderson and Monak Patel here and seeing their response to the stadium and the playing surface was also pretty special. It gives us a real sense of what the fans can expect next month," he added.
The 34,000-seater temporary stadium is the first of its kind in international cricket, and is also believed to be the largest ever constructed in the United States.
Featured at the unveiling were extensive hospitality and media pavilions on the north and south ends of the venue, which join the east and west general admission stands. Among the new additions are the Cabana seats in the North pavilion along with the Corner Club seats with a private party area.
The stadium is one of the three venues in the USA for the upcoming mega-event. Florida and Texas will also host matches from the event.
The USA are co-hosts for the event alongside the West Indies, where 39 matches will be played across six venues. The Final will be held on 29 June in Barbados.
No spark from Rovman Powell as Curran pilots Punjab Kings over Rajasthan Royals
Sam Curran starred as Punjab Kings moved off the bottom of the Indian Premier League table with a five-wicket victory over second-place Rajasthan Royals.
The Kings successfully chased a target of 145 as Curran finished with an unbeaten 63, including two maximums in the final four balls, to get them over the finish line.
The Royals struggled to find their rhythm until Riyan Parag (48) and Ravichandran Ashwin (28) stepped up to drag them into contention, but the Kings stifled their recovery near the end of the first innings. West Indies captain Rovman Powell (four) was among those that failed to spark at the backend of the Royals innings.
Curran (2-24), Harshal Patel (2-28) and Rahul Chahar (2-26) all played a part in limiting RR to 144-9, though the Kings then looked like they might fall short in the chase.
Sam Curran starred for Punjab Kings.
Punjab captain Curran carried them forward after a slow start, and though Jitesh Sharma was caught for 22 to offer the Royals hope in the 16th over, impact player Ashutosh Sharma contributed an unbeaten 17 in support of Curran, whose big hitting got the job done with an over remaining.
Data Debrief: Patel comes up clutch
Having posted figures of 2-28 on Wednesday, Patel now has 63 wickets in the death overs (16th-20th) in the IPL, the outright fifth-most wickets in this phase in competition history after Dwayne Bravo (102), Lasith Malinga (90), Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (85) and Jasprit Bumrah (80).
His late dismissals of Parag and Donovan Ferreira kept the Royals' score down, then Curran's joint-highest IPL knock ensured the Kings registered a fourth consecutive away victory.
Pooran's blistering 61 not enough as Shai Hope's Capitals edge LSG by 19 runs to keep slim play-off hopes alive
Delhi Capitals defeated Lucknow Super Giants to boost their hopes of making the Indian Premier League play-offs.
The Capitals claimed a 19-run victory on Tuesday, with Abishek Porel (58) and Tristan Stubbs (57 not out) starring.
Their efforts propelled Delhi to 208-4 from their 20 overs, with Shai Hope (38) and Rishabh Pant (33) chipping in with useful contributions as LSG's bowling attack struggled badly. Hope faced 27 balls and had three fours and two sixes in his knock.
Nicholas Pooran top-scored with a 27-ball 61 in Lucknow's chase, while Arshad Khan plundered an unbeaten 58, yet it was not enough, with the Super Giants only able to reach 189-9 in response. Pooran's knock included six fours and four maximums, while Khan had three fours and five sixes in his 33-ball knock.
Shai Hope found his range after a quiet start.
Ishant Sharma, with 3-34, was the pick of the Capitals' bowlers, as they must now wait and see if Chennai Super Kings or Sunrisers Hyderabad slip up enough to send Delhi into the top four.
LSG are down in seventh, and they must beat Mumbai Indians heavily in their last match to stand any chance of making the play-offs.
Data Debrief: Ishant hits double figures... again
Introduced as the impact player, Ishant fulfilled his duty with three swift wickets inside his first three overs, with Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul and Deepak Hood all taken out.
Ishant has now taken 10 wickets this season, and is onto 93 across his entire IPL career. It is the sixth season Ishant has reached double figures for wickets, and his second in a row.
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