‘Slower deliveries were the toughest…’: MI skipper Hardik after loss to GT

AHMEDABAD(Gujarat): Following his side’s loss to the Gujarat Titans (GT) in their Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya said that his team fell behind by 15-20 runs in both batting and bowling and it was tough to face slower deliveries on a tricky surface.

Hardik’s poor run as MI captain spilled over to the second season as his first game in charge after serving a slow-over-rate ban was a 36-run loss to his former team, GT, at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. While MI made a remarkable comeback at death overs to end GT’s innings at a score of 196, their own batting imploded during the final few overs.

Speaking after the match in the post-match presentation, Hardik said, “Tough to put it together, I think in batting and bowling we were 15-20 runs short in both places. We were not professionals in the field, we made basic errors, and that cost us 20-25 runs and in a T20 game, that is quite a lot.

They (GT openers) batted brilliantly. They were quite exceptional, they did not take many chances, they did the right stuff, and they were able to get runs without playing many risky shots. We have been doing catch-up since then. At the moment, we all need to take responsibility; it is still the early stages. Batters have to come to the party, hopefully, they will do that soon. On this wicket, they (slower deliveries) were the toughest balls, some were shooting, and some were bouncing, as batters it becomes difficult. They (GT bowlers) did what I did with the ball.”

Coming to the match, MI won the toss and opted to bowl first. GT openers Shubman Gill (38 in 27 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Sai Sudarshan put the team to a fine start with a 78-run stand. Another half-century stand came between Sudarshan and Jos Buttler (39 in 24 balls, with five fours and a six). Sudarshan played a solid knock of 63 in 41 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes. From 179/4, GT suffered a mini-collapse towards the end as they were restricted to 196/8 in 20 overs.

Skipper Hardik Pandya (2/29) was the pick of the bowlers for MI, while Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Satyanarayana Raju each took a wicket.

In the run chase of 197 runs, MI lost Rohit Sharma (8) and Ryan Rickelton early. However, Tilak Varma (39 in 36 balls, with three fours and a six) and Suryakumar Yadav (48 in 28 balls, with a four and four sixes) tried fighting it out for MI with a 62-run stand. Following their dismissal, MI lost their way and were restricted to 160/6 in 20 overs.

Prasidh Krishna (2/18) and Mohammed Siraj (2/34) were the top bowlers for GT. Kagiso Rabada and Sai Kishore also got a wicket each. (ANI)