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Hello Friends.
After 65 days & 74 thrilling encounters finally we got the champions of 15th edition of Indian Premier League. What a season it has been for the debutant Gujarat Titans who emerged victorious by defeating Rajasthan Royals in the grand finale. At the beginning of the season nobody would have thought that the team which has been criticized for its performance in the mega auction will go all the way to be crowned as the champions. After all a team does not become champions on paper but on field through a remarkable exhibition of skills. Hardik Pandya led Titans did exactly the same. Each and every member of the team performed at different stages of the tournament. It's a team of individual champions. The atmosphere during the final was terrific. After playing in empty stadiums for about two years it was a delightful experience for both the teams to play in front of such a huge crowd in the largest cricket stadium in the planet. Even though the final was a low scoring encounter it was not short of excitement considering it was a now or never situation.
Not to forget the performance of the Rajasthan Royals too throughout the season. They have been one of the most consistent teams this season. An attacking batting line up, potent bowling combination and a calm captain in the form of Sanju Samson were major factors for the Royals' turnaround this season. If we look at both the finalists this season one of the major common factor we can notice is they have backed their players brilliantly. That reflected in their performance too. Though it can be said that individual brilliance of Jos Buttler & Yuzvendra Chahal was a major factor behind Royals' dominance, others have come with some match winning performances too. Not to forget the contribution of the coaching staff too for both the finalists as they have some extremely calm and tactical minds working behind the scenes all the times.
Talking about other two teams of the playoffs, Lucknow Super Giants & Royal Challengers Bangalore could not really replicate their league stage performance during the knockout phase. Overall if we look at this season it has been one of the most exciting seasons so far. Looking at the strength that all the ten teams possess it can be said that upcoming seasons are going to be even more interesting. The big guns didn't have a satisfactory season this time resulting in the emergence of a new champion which is good for the competition. Great to see some of the Indian youngsters who performed exceptionally well this season getting opportunities to represent their country in near future. Youngster like Umran Malik has been the flavor of the season. Another positive for Indian cricket is lot of their next gen cricketers being the leaders of their respective franchises which creates a team of leaders for the men in blue.
Coming back to the champions Hardik's leadership has been the talk of the season. A year back he was struggling for form and fitness resulting in his non retention in Mumbai Indians franchise as well as ouster from the national team as well. Look how he made a grand comeback. Now he will not just be considered as an all round cricketer but a leader too which is great for Indian cricket. Throughout the season he has been seen enjoying the leadership responsibility on and off the field. He has been extremely smart while getting the best out of his team. He led from the front both with bat and ball too. Final was one of the prime example where he returned with a match winning bowling spell combined with a useful knock with the bat during the crunch phase of the match. He couldn't have asked for more . Isn't it??
Looking forward to yet another exciting season next year. Hopefully we can get back to the pre-covid mode where every team can have the opportunity to play in their home ground. There is no better sight than playing a cricket match in front of a packed stadium in India. Stay tuned at this space for some more exciting cricketing action.
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