IPL 2023: Hardik Pandya Reflects On Magnificent Win Over Mumbai Indians
Mumbai: Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya opened up after his franchise beat Mumbai Indians by 55 runs in match no 35 of the ongoing Indian Premier League. GT produced a clinical performance to outclass Mumbai Indians on Tuesday at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
A half-century from Shubman Gill (56 off 34) followed by a late onslaught by Manohar (42 off 21) and Miller (46 off 22), who shared a 71-run partnership, helped Titans recover from a poor start. Rahul Tewatia gave the finishing touches to the innings with his unbeaten 20 off 5 as GT posted 207/6 in their 20 overs.
Afghanistan spinners Rashid Khan (2-27) and Noor Ahmad (3-37) starred with the ball as Gujarat Titans restrict Mumbai Indians to 152/9 and sealed a comprehensive victory by 55 runs.
With this win, the Titans jumped to the second spot with 10 points on the points table while MI are placed seventh with eight points in seven games.
After winning the game Hardik Pandya opened up about his mindset and motto. The skipper also lavished praise on Abhinav Manohar saying that he bats 2 hours in the nets everyday it feels like, he’s been our best death overs hitter.
“That has been my motto, always taken calls on situations. T20 is very funny, a couple of sixes can change your mind. Captaincy is something I back my instincts on. Me and Ashu Pa have a similar mindset, we back our calls and we have similar calls. Today, the idea of bowling Rashid and Noor was simple. They like pace with Green and Tim David who are big hitters, and that’s why we wanted to offer them spin and offer them spinners that are difficult to read. Wanted to close the game early because a couple of games haven’t gone in our favour recently. (On Abhinav Manohar) I think it is all hardwork, he bats 2 hours in the nets everyday it feels like, he’s been our best death overs hitter. We spoke to him last year and there were a few things he had to improve on, and this year he’s come out blazing” said Hardik Pandya in post match conference.
Brief scores: Gujarat Titans 207/6 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 56, David Miller 46, Abhinav Monahar 42; Piyush Chawla 2-34) beat Mumbai Indians 152/9 in 20 overs (Cameron Green 33, Nehal Wadhera 40; Noor Ahmad 3-27, Rashid Khan 2-27, Mohit Sharma 2-38) by 55 runs