For the time being, we’ll have to call to Gujarat Titans as the Manchester City of the IPL: Shaun Pollock. GT won ten of their 14 league matches to advance to the IPL 2023 QI.
Gujarat Titans, the defending champions, qualified for the IPL playoffs. Yet again after being the most consistent side in the league. The Hardik Pandya-led side has covered all bases, and as a result, they have emerged as one of the competition’s powerhouses. Former cricketer Shaun Pollock is very impressed, dubbing them the “Manchester City of India.” Notably, the English football club is very consistent in the Premier League, and as a result, Pollock drew parallels based on their constancy.
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Gujarat finished first in the points standings in the IPL 2023, with 10 wins in 14 league matches.
They have so qualified for the playoffs and will face the four-time champions Chennai Super Kings on May 23. Gujarat will qualify for yet another final if they defeat the MS Dhoni-led team, but if they fail, they will be sent to Qualifier 2 and will have another chance to enter the finals.
Pollock praised them for their excellent brand of cricket, but warned them that reality will catch up with them shortly. The former South Africa captain stated that the Hardik Pandya-led side played without pressure for the bulk of the competition, but they may feel the fire in the playoffs. As a result, he wants the team to be cautious at the tournament’s conclusion.
“At the moment, we’ll have to refer to them as the Manchester City of the IPL.” Consider the net run rate plus 0.8. They’ve not only been winning, but they’ve been winning in style. They must approach the situation with confidence. It’s always been a challenging period of the competition. You’d think that in the last ten days, they’d already qualified for the first playoff game and hadn’t had to cope with much pressure.
Then you go back, and you have to do or die. Obviously not in the first game, but in the second. So, at some point, they have to accept the possibility of being knocked out,” Pollock said to Cricbuzz.
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