 "GT vs MI: '13 games to go' says Hardik Pandya after defeat; Shubman Gill praises 'outstanding' bowlers")
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya took their six-run defeat to Gujarat Titans in their Indian Premier League (IPL) opener on the chin, saying it was “not an issue” as there are 13 matches to go.
Gill, Pandya’s GT counterpart, who took over the captaincy duties from the all-rounder, was thrilled by how his bowlers pulled off the heist. Mumbai Indians needed 48 runs off the last six overs with seven wickets in hand, and with heavy dew disrupting the flow of the bowlers, yet they fell six runs short.
“Obviously we back ourselves to chase those 42 runs (in the last five overs) but it was one of those days where we see the score quite less in those last five overs, we lost a bit of momentum there,” Pandya said at the post-match presentation.
“It feels good to be back because this is one stadium where you can enjoy and feel the atmosphere quite lively and obviously the crowd was full and they got a good game as well.”
There was an odd incident in Rashid Khan’s final over, the 17th of the chase. Tim David, who had been promoted ahead of Pandya in the batting order, lofted Rashid towards the deep midwicket boundary. He and Tilak Varma could have run a double if they pushed hard, but they settled for a single instead to bring the left-hander on strike. Tilak then struck the next ball to deep midwicket but refused a single. At this point MI needed 38 off 21 balls and the pressure only increased after Rashid went for only three runs in the 17th over.
Pandya wasn’t too hard on the player, and said, “I think Tilak felt that was a better idea at that point of time. I completely back him. Not an issue, (we have) 13 games to go.”
Impact Shorts
More ShortsGT captain Gill praised his bowlers. “I think the way the boys held up their nerves in the death overs, especially with the dew coming in, the way we bowled was outstanding,” Gill said after the match. “There was a lot of dew. The way our spinners bowled, Rashid [Khan] and Sai [Kishore], they made sure we were in the game always. In the end it was all about putting on the pressure and holding our nerves.”
R Sai Kishore, who had played just five games in the last two seasons, went for only 24 runs in four overs despite dew making things difficult for the bowlers. Rashid didn’t pick up a wicket but went for only 23 runs in his four overs.
Mohit Sharma, who was the second highest wicket-taker last season, dismissed David in the 18th over to return figures of 2/32. “He’s [Mohit] has been a revelation ever since he has come, last year as well the way he bowled, hopefully he will continue his form and give us many good matches like this,” Gill said. “I thought 170 was a good score but we definitely left 10-15 out there but that happens. They were also going well, and they were above par, but it became hard to hit the old ball and the wicket became a bit slow.”
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