IPL 2023: 2 in 2 - How Hardik Pandya and Ashish Nehra fired GT to their second consecutive playoffs

IPL 2023: A team which came into existence just one year ago and won the coveted IPL trophy in their first-ever attempt, have now qualified for the play-offs once again. Defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT), are the first team to qualify for the IPL 2023 play-offs.

Notably, they were the first to enter the play-offs stage of the IPL 2022 as well. In the ongoing season. GT have 18 points from 13 matches. They are left with one league match but have already ensured a top-two finish. A win in Qualifier 1 and they will make it to the finals again.

Much of the credit to GT's success is given to the captain-coach duo of Hardik Pandya and Ashish Nehra. The culture they have built within the team has given space to players to perform to their fullest capacity.

Take for example Wriddhiman Saha's India career is over and he plays in a handful of matches for Tripura in the domestic circuit but the 38-year-old comes all guns blazing and smashes 81 off 43 while opening for GT.

Similarly, someone like Vijay Shankar who featured in the 2019 World Cup and has almost been forgotten by the national selectors, has looked a different beast in GT colours.

He smashed a 21-ball fifty against KKR at home and then blasted unbeaten 51 off 24 against the same opposition at Eden Gardens. On the second occasion, GT were in need off 73 runs off the final 37 balls, however, the madness from Shankar saw the Hardik Pandya-led side chase down the target in the next 24 balls only

Examples are many, however, can not afford to move forward without mentioning the comeback of Mohit Sharma. Nehra inducted him as a net bowler in IPL 2022. Cut to 2023, the veteran pacer has 17 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 13.52. The 34-year-old is winning matches for his side in the last over.

Hardik has gone on record to say that GT had two options - one to have a team full of stars like his former team Mumbai Indians (MI) and the second to create a team environment like Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

The side opted to go with the second option and built a culture where there were not one or two match-winners in the side. The culture and the environment truly believed in the famous BJP motto of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas'. And the result is there to be seen.

In this season as well, a close look will reveal that Shubman Gill is GT's standout batter but he has been backed by three more players who have scored over 200 runs and are averaging 40.

The likes of Hardik (289), David Miller (249), Shankar (234), Sai Sudharsan (223) and Saha (275) and Tewatia (80 at an average of 170.21 and a strike rate of 170.21) have rallied behind him or sometimes forged a lone battle to win thrillers.

Same is the case with the bowling department where Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan are the ultimate superstars. The duo have picked 23 wickets each.

However, Gujarat Titans have made sure they don't just rely on them. Mohit has backed them beautifully and an 18-year-old left-arm spinner in Noor Ahmad has also been nurtured. He has picked 11 wickets in nine matches at an average of 22.63 and an economy rate of 7.74.

"When you put a team together from scratch, you look for characters among your squad that can help build that culture. It is not easy when you bring in people from all around the world that can just walk in and be harmonious," Finch told Star Sports.

"Huge amount of credit goes to Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya and Vikram Solanki as well as they have structured up this side, fitting personalities together but not just that.

"One thing is to find people who are so skillful and good at their job and the other is to find guys who work well together and play well together, that's such an underrated thing," he added.

Hardik and Nehra compliment each other - both are easy going but just hate to lose and have tremendous passion for the game. They did not take control of GT and made it their own property with handpicked sets of rules.

Watching GT play is like watching a football match. Hardik has a flamboyance of a football star, while Nehra is as involved in a game from the boundary ropes as a football manager.

Both are instinctive and have not run the team with one set rule. GT isn't a regime, it's a kingdom where everyone enjoys cricket and happily contributes.