GT vs RR IPL 2022 Final: How the unsung duo of Nehra and Kirsten fashion Gujarat Titans title win

A
lot
of
attention
will
rightfully
go
to
GT
captain
Hardik
Pandya,
but
there
are
two
other
men
who
worked
more
silently
from
behind
the
scenes,
but
as
much
creditworthy
as
anyone
else.

They
are
head
coach
Ashish
Nehra
and
batting
coach
Gary
Kirsten.

1

53929

“I
am
really
chuffed.
You
are
looking
for
balance,
depth
at
the
auction
but
the
most
important
is
you
need
guys
who
are
versatile.
We
had
a
strong
bowling
attack
throughout
the
tournament
and
towards
the
end
we
even
went
a
bowler
extra
and
a
batter
light.

“Hardik
has
been
incredibly
humble
and
eager
to
learn.
He
batted
beautifully,
taking
responsibility
which
is
different
from
what
we
have
seen
of
him
in
the
IPL.
T20
is
a
very
tactical
game.

“I
loved
working
with
Ashish,
he
is
tactically
very
good.
It’s
an
incredible
winning
in
your
first
season
in
front
of
100,000
people,”
Kirsten
told
Star
Sports
after
GT
won
the
title.

Even
the
GT
captain
Hardik
had
said
he
joined
the
franchise
after
seeing
the
names
of
Nehra
and
Kirsten
in
the
coaching
roster.

“Nehra
is
someone
who
can
understand
me
and
know
me
as
a
person
and
kind
of
get
the
best
out
of
me.
So
for
me,
playing
and
spending
so
much
time
with
him
is
always
fun
and
I’ve
always
enjoyed
his
company
no
matter
what,”
Hardik
had
said.

“Our
cricketing
minds
work
in
a
similar
fashion.
He
is
someone
who
spends
so
much
time
looking
after
people
(and)
that
is
a
fantastic
quality.

“He
makes
sure
he
gives
ample
time
to
every
individual.
Ashu
Pa
(Nehra)
and
a
lot
of
credit
goes
to
the
support
staff
to
make
sure
that
the
outside
environment
is
pretty
chilled
out
and
all
that,”
added
Hardik.

Now,
it
is
time
for
some
history.
Of
course,
May
29
will
forever
be
remembered
as
the
golden
day
for
Nehra-Kirsten
combo.

But
this
is
not
the
first
time
these
two
are
working
together.

2011
World
Cup

Ashish
Nehra
was
a
member
of
the
India
squad
that
won
the
2011
World
Cup
and
Kirsten
then
was
the
head
coach.
It
ended
in
a
sweet
note
for
the
Nehra-Kirsten
combo.

IPL
2019

This
time
Kirsten
was
the
batting
coach
of
RCB
and
Nehra
the
bowling
coach
of
the
franchise.
But
the
stint
ended
in
disaster
as
the
Royal
Challengers
Bangalore
ended
8th
in
the
league
and
both
Kirsten
and
Nehra
were
removed
from
their
respective
posts.
Mike
Hesson
and
Simon
Katich
replaced
the
duo
in
the
RCB
set
up
for
the
IPL
2020
onwards.

IPL
2022

The
Nehra
and
Kirsten
duo
rejoined
two
years
down
the
line
for
the
new
franchise
Gujarat
Titans.
But
there
were
a
lot
murmurs
once
Nehra
was
appointed
as
the
head
coach,
after
all
the
Delhiite
did
not
have
an
impressive
CV
as
the
coach.
But
as
later
Hardik
said
both
Nehra
and
Kirsten
found
a
way
to
get
the
best
out
of
the
players
and
they
were
very
clear
in
their
vision
about
the
kind
of
players
they
needed
in
GT
set-up.

Talk
about
journey
coming
to
a
full
circle!