IPL 2024: Hardik Pandya Admits Mumbai Indians ‘Could Have Tried Few Different Things’ After Loss Vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
Hyderabad: Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya admitted they could have tried a few different things after the five-time champions lost by 31 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad in an high-scoring encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday. Asked to bat first, SRH posted a mammoth 277/3 – highest in the history of Indian Premier League. They surpassed Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 263/5 against Pune Warriors India in 2013.
In reply, Mumbai Indians stayed in the chase till the 18th over before managing 246/5 in 20 overs to lose their second match on the trot in the ongoing edition. It was also the first time, 500 runs were scored in a game. “The wicket was good but 277, no matter how good or bad you bowl, if the opposition get 277 that means they batted very well,” Pandya said after the game.
With the wicket assisting the batters completely, stopping the run flow for the bowlers was difficult. Backing his own bowlers, Pandya said, “(Bowlers) were good. It was tough out there. Close to 500 runs were scored so the wicket was helping the batters.
“We could have tried a few different things, but we have a young bowling attack and I liked what I saw today. If the ball goes this much in the crowd, it’s definitely different to run around and complete the overs in time,” he added.
If Travis Head (24-ball 62), Abhishek Sharma (63 off 23), Heinrich Klassen (80 not out, 34 balls) and Aiden Markram (42 not out, 28 balls) grabbed the headlines for SRH, the likes of Tilak Varma (34-ball 64) and Tim David (22-ball 42 not out) did the bulk of runs for Mumbai Indians.
In fact, it was Rohit Sharma (26) and Ishan Kishan (34), who gave Mumbai Indians the momentum at the start of the chase with their lusty hitting. “Everyone batted really well, counting Tilak, Ro, Ishan. There are just few things we need to do right and we’ll be alright,” he added.
Head, who was India’s thorn in the neck last year during ODI World Cup and WTC finals, displayed why he is the most-sought after in T20 cricket. Playing his first IPL match game, the Australian raced to a 18-ball fifty to take the game away from the opposition.
“The batting’s done an exceptional job in the last two games so feels good to contribute. We were pretty aggressive in the first game as well and that’s one thing we want to do at the top. I’m pleased I could target both the off side and leg side. Earlier I would sometimes just target the leg side,” he added