Mumbai Indians (MI) sailed into the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 after completing a hat-trick of wins against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) this season at Chepauk on Tuesday. With the win in Qualifier 1, MI has made it to the IPL final for the fifth time.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya wasn’t required to do much with the bat as MI cruised towards the low total riding on Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 71 off 54 balls. However after the conclusion of the game, Pandya was seen sharing pleasantries with CSK captain and his Indian teammate MS Dhoni.
Hardik also posted a picture on Twitter revealing his relationship with Dhoni. “My inspiration, my friend, my brother, my legend,” he wrote in his post.
My inspiration, my friend, my brother, my legend ❤🚁 @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/yBu0HEiPJw
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) May 8, 2019
Hardik made his international debut under the captaincy of Dhoni on 26th January 2016 at the Adelaide Oval. In IPL 2019, Pandya has often replicated Dhoni’s signature ‘helicopter shot’. Hence it doesn’t come much of a surprise that he would call the veteran his inspiration.
Both of them have been donning the finishing role quite well for their respective teams, which is a positive sign for India ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, scheduled to be played in England and Wales from May 30 to June 14.
While Hardik has scored 386 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 193, MS Dhoni has been lifting the CSK batting unit with a tally of 405 runs coming at a splendid strike rate of 135.
