Hardik Pandya 100 vs Rajasthan Royals Final 2022
A captain's hundred, an unbeaten hundred, a franchise born in fire.
Hardik Pandya's unbeaten century in the IPL 2022 Final is the single most defining individual performance in Gujarat Titans' short but storied existence. Batting at the tail end of a high-pressure chase, the captain and all-rounder took on Rajasthan Royals' bowlers at Narendra Modi Stadium and finished on 100, steering his side to a seven-wicket victory and the franchise's first IPL title. The innings is remembered not just for the score but for the theatre of it: a captain, with his back to the wall and a packed Ahmedabad crowd roaring behind him, refusing to let the chase slip away. It cemented Hardik's status as one of the game's most feared finishers and gave the Titans their founding myth on the grandest stage the league offers.
Quick Facts
- Player
- Hardik Pandya
- Role
- Captain & All-rounder, Gujarat Titans
- Match
- IPL 2022 Final (Season 15)
- Opponent
- Rajasthan Royals
- Venue
- Narendra Modi Stadium (Saurashtra Cricket Stadium), Ahmedabad
- Score
- 100 (unbeaten)
- Result
- Gujarat Titans won by 7 wickets
Lore & Background
Gujarat Titans entered the IPL as a brand-new franchise, and their debut season carried the weight of an entire state's optimism. By the time they reached the final in Ahmedabad, the narrative had already shifted from 'can they survive?' to 'can they deliver when it matters most?' The answer came in the form of a man who had spent years being called a one-hit wonder, a flashy all-rounder who never quite backed it up with a trophy.
Reader's Guide
The chase was on, and the middle order had done its job—set the platform, keep the runs coming. But the last ten overs carried a different gravity. The scoreboard told a simple story: a few more runs, and the title was Gujarat's. A few more, and the dream dissolved into another season of waiting. Hardik walked out at number nine, the captain who'd carried the franchise through a grueling season, and the stadium—thousands of voices in blue and gold—locked onto him like a single organism. The first ball was a sweep, soft, patient. The second, a pull that found the boundary. The crowd's roar shifted from hope to belief. Then came the sixes. Two, three, each one a detonation in the Ahmedabad night. The bowlers from the other end scrambled, fielders stretched, but Hardik's timing was surgical. He didn't just chase the runs; he chased the narrative, the one where the new kid from Gujarat doesn't just survive the final—he owns it. When the hundred was up, the stadium didn't cheer. It erupted. Strangers embraced. A captain walked back down the pitch with the bat raised, and Gujarat had its title, its myth, its founding night.
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