‘I feed on love’

The most poignant moment was when Hardik Pandyarsquos wife Natasa Stankovic ran on to the ground to hug him overwhelmed with emotion after IPL debutants Gujarat Titans thrashed the tournamentrsquos inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday night Stankovic kept weeping even as Pandya tried hard to calm her ldquoShe is very emotional and gets happy when she sees me doing well She has seen me go through a lot of things She has seen me putting in the hard yards no matter what Thatrsquos something I donrsquot speak about but she knows how hard I have worked behind the scenesrdquo Pandya said at the postmatch virtual press conferenceFamily members in tearsldquoMy brother Krunal cried when I called him My sisterinlaw Pankhuri cried as well These are tears of happiness and something fantastic I live on and feed on love that I keep getting from my familyrdquo he addedGujarat Titans with the IPL winners trophy in Ahmedabad on Sunday PicsBCCI IPLPandyarsquos constant companion in the last 12 months or so has been questions either about his fitness his bowling batting or the allrounder tag When Pandya was chosen as the Gujarat Titans captain there were questions raised then too especially since he had never led any senior team until thenPandyarsquos doubters were at him again after he missed the match against Chennai Super Kings on April 17At the start of GTrsquos campaign Pandya kept things under wraps about his bowling Pandya ended up bowling 30 overs in GTrsquos successful run However with his powerpacked performance in the final showdown where he claimed 317 and scored a crucial 34 off 30 balls Pandya has silenced his critics once and for all ldquoI wanted to show what I had worked hard for Today was the day I saved the best forrdquo Pandya said at the postmatch presentation ceremony However he dismissed his own statement in the postmatch media conference saying ldquoYeh sab bolne ki baatein hai Itrsquos just for the sake of sayingrdquoPandya came under scrutiny ever since the halffit allrounder was picked for the T20 World Cup last year in the UAE where India failed to make it to the knockout stage Dropped from the national team Pandya literally went into hiding He stayed away from public glare to focus on his game and fitness He would practise his drills at Bandrarsquos MIG Cricket Club which he would access at odd hours to avoid public attentionWhile most of the Gujarat Titans players were training at their home ground here before the IPL Pandya was busy doing his own drills miles away from his new teammates in Mumbai and Baroda He joined them only a few days before entering the biobubbleThroughout IPL15 Pandya religiously followed his fitness routine that included among other things taking a couple of rounds of the ground before every matchWon five out of five finalsPandya has been in five IPL finalsmdashfour with Mumbai Indiansmdashbut this was extra special ldquoThis will be special since I was captain The previous four times were also special I consider myself lucky to have played five finals and lifted the trophy on all occasions Throughout the season Irsquove always enjoyed responsibility It gets the best out of merdquo concluded Pandya