Image Credit- BCCI
It was that clear.
It was impossible for anyone on the programme to ignore it. When was the last
time an Indian player was jeered at home, mused Kevin Pietersen. What could
Hardik Pandya do to win them over, Ian Bishop enquired? An easy fix for Brian
Lara was to say, “Play for India here.”
The Ahmedabad audience loudly jeered Hardik for changing sides, and they
expressed their displeasure with the move each time he played. The Gujarat
Titans may have approved one of the largest IPL transfers in player history,
but their supporters were not having it.
Shubman Gill, the
Titans’ new captain in place of Hardik, was warmly greeted. The crowd responded
enthusiastically each time he called on them to support the team, as he did
when the Mumbai Indians were leading their chase at 107 for 2 in 12 overs.
But they were just unable to provide their former skipper the same treatment.
The pregame activities did not reveal the full amount of their suffering. You
felt it, though, thanks to the 88,000 fans who transformed the venue into a
cauldron.
For Hardik, it was a night unlike any other.
His new, old club,
the Mumbai Indians, were defeated in the final over in a thrilling match that
shouldn’t have gone to this extent. The scene of his biggest captaincy triumph,
the Narendra Modi Stadium, where he lifted the IPL 2022 title with the Titans,
became his epicentre of anguish.
When Hardik took the ball first up, you could feel it. The intensity of the
play increased as Wriddhiman Saha skillfully guided him behind point for a
boundary to start the game.
You sensed it when Hardik frantically changed fields, asking Rohit Sharma to
move into nooks you had never seen him in before, like short third, or from
square leg to point.
And when Mumbai
needed 19 off of 6 and Hardik was on strike at the beginning of the last over,
you could really feel it. Only fifteen minutes before, those who had started
running for the gates since the outcome appeared inevitable, gathered close to
the exit, causing a huge ruckus.
But they were silent in a matter of seconds. Hardik fulfilled a promise made by
Pat Cummins during last year’s ODI World Cup final. There’s nothing more
fulfilling than being the away captain. As though Hardik knew Umesh Yadav, who
had to bowl the last over, would bowl a short delivery.
He is born with the
conviction that no barrier is large enough to overcome. The person behind cover
was 73 metres away. But it made no difference. Hardik tried it out of instinct
as Umesh dug in. The bat was held in place similar to a sledgehammer. And he
hit the midway with a nail.
There was silence all around Motera. 13 minus 5. Gill took over to oversee his
domain. Umesh bowled lengthily, and the crowd rallied behind him. Hardik
smacked it on the cover line. This couldn’t be happening, right? Mumbai required
nine minus four.
The anxiety was palpable. The fans fell silent, dumbfounded by an attack they
had no intention of initiating but knew Hardik was more than capable of.
The fans had to
rediscover who they were. Indeed, they did. For the last time. That being said,
it sounded more like a prayer for Umesh than a jab at Hardik. It was that
tight.
In summary, Umesh performed a better job than his previous attempt by striking
the pitch harder and getting it to bounce higher. Though Hardik was expecting
it, he was only able to knock it to Rahul Tewatia at the long-on boundary. Just
when you thought the crowd had nothing more to contribute, they found their
voice again.
The audience realised that they now had the game. However, they refrained from
rejoicing until Piyush Chawla was out on the following ball, a long hop that he
smashed to deep midwicket.
After 16 seasons, if you needed reminding that fan loyalty is a thing in the
IPL, this was it.