On Sunday, Hardik Pandya made history, becoming the first Indian to lift the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy in his debut season as captain after the all-rounder powered the Gujarat Titans (GT) to a comprehensive victory over the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.
Hardik Pandya starred with both bat and bowl in the match – registering highly impressive figures of 3/17 with the ball after the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan opted to bat first in the final.
Subsequently, Hardik Pandya then put up a composed show with the bat too, making a fine 34 off 30 balls to steer Gujarat to their first-ever IPL title after the newly-formed franchise chased down the 131-run target with relative ease.
While it was junior Pandya's first IPL crown as skipper, the Surat-born cricketer hasn't been a stranger to lifting the coveted trophy in the past.
Previously, Hardik Pandya rose through the ranks in the Mumbai Indians (MI) line-up before becoming one of the core members of Rohit Sharma's team.
With the Mumbai-based outfit, Hardik Pandya captured the IPL title on four occasions, winning the cash-rich league in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020.
His role in at least two of those triumphs was crucial as he made 250 runs and took seven wickets in 2017, while in 2019 his numbers improved by leaps and bounds as he scored 402 runs and also grabbed 14 wickets as MI went on to claim their fourth IPL title.
Overall, Hardik Pandya won his fifth IPL title during the weekend and joined his former Mumbai Indians teammates Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu in second place as the men who have the most IPL trophies to their name.
While Pollard has been a part of each of MI's five title wins, Rayudu clinched the trophy thrice with Mumbai and twice with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Hardik Pandya, however, pipped CSK skipper MS Dhoni and former Mumbai Indians pacer Lasith Malinga, both of whom have won the IPL title four times each.
The list for the maximum number of IPL crowns, however, is topped by India captain Rohit Sharma who has bagged the prestigious trophy six times during his illustrious career.
Under Rohit's leadership, Mumbai Indians have won the IPL trophy five times in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020.
Besides, Rohit had secured the elite T20 cup with the Deccan Chargers (now SunRisers Hyderabad) in 2009.
Hardik Pandya may have failed to break Rohit Sharma's record for the most IPL titles, but he did equal MS Dhoni's special record in the competition.
Before Gujarat Titans win over Rajasthan Royals in Sunday's title clash, no team other than CSK had won the IPL trophy at home, a feat Dhoni and his boys attained back in 2011.
Gujarat Titans are now the second side in IPL's history to claim the trophy at home, having hoisted the trophy at their home ground in Ahmedabad.
Moreover, Hardik Pandya became the first “true” home skipper to lift the trophy, considering CSK skipper Dhoni was born in Ranchi.
But Hardik was born in Surat, a city situated in the western part of Gujarat and the ace all-rounder would have enjoyed the win more than he ever did in the past with Mumbai Indians.
Hardik Pandya also became just the fourth Indian captain to win the IPL title after MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, and Gautam Gambhir.
The Dhoni-led CSK won IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, and 2021 while Gautam Gambhir powered the Kolkata Knight Riders to two trophies in the prestigious event in 2012 and 2014.
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