Channelling his inner MS Dhoni, captain Hardik Pandya was cool as a cucumber even after Mumbai Indians (MI) extended their first-match jinx in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday. With Rohit Sharma going bonkers, Mumbai Indians were cruising in their run-chase as the five-time champions reached 107/2 after 12 overs. However, MI still made a mess of their hunt by registering a stunning defeat at the hands of the 2022 winners. Chasing Gujarat Titans’ (GT) less-intimidating 168-run target at the world’s largest cricket stadium, MI batter Tilak Varma refused to take a single while batting alongside Tim David.
Though Tilak raised a few eyebrows by not taking a run at the crucial juncture, Hardik opted to back the MI youngster after Mumbai’s first defeat of the new season. Despite emerging as favourites to end the tie in their favour, Mumbai only mustered 162/9 in 20 overs to lose the match by six runs. Completing the post-match rituals, legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar asked MI skipper Hardik about Tilak’s refusal to run the single with David.
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Sunil Gavaskar asks burning question about Tilak Varma
“Hardik, there was one over by Rashid Khan, the last over where Tilak Varma did not take a single. Is there any thinking behind that?,” Gavaskar asked Pandya on JioCinema. “Not really, I think Tilak felt that was a better idea at that point of time. I completely back him, it is not an issue. Thirteen games to go,” Pandya responded.
Hardik fails to inspire MI in homecoming tie
Talking about the match, Tilak scored 25 off 19 balls while David perished for 11 off 10 balls before Pandya arrived at the crease in his homecoming game. Playing the role of a finisher, Pandya smoked a six and a four in Umesh Yadav’s final over. However, Pandya failed to take MI over the finish line as Umesh dismissed the MI skipper and Piyush Chawla to help GT win the final-over thriller at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
MI lost a bit of momentum: Pandya
Senior fast bowler Umesh picked two wickets in the final over as Shubman Gill’s GT extended MI’s winless run on their opening day of the new season. Youngster Sai Sudharsan was named the Player of the Match for his brilliant knock of 45 off 39 balls against Pandya’s men. “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.
