Hardik Pandya forced a brave face following Mumbai Indians’ (MI) crushing six-wicket home loss to Rajasthan Royals. Remarkably, MI lost for the third time in a row in the current Indian Premier League (IPL 2024). Hardik Pandya implored his teammates to have more bravery going forward, even if he was subjected to frequent jeers from the disgruntled Wankhede crowd following his unexpected nomination as captain.
After Trent Boult’s devastating opening session, which saw Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, and Naman Dhir bowl for golden ducks, Mumbai’s batting collapsed to 20/4 in four overs. It was an awful night for the team. Tilak Varma (32 off 29) and Hardik (34 off 21) offered some opposition, but Mumbai was able to finish with 125/9 on the board.
Boult was not the only player to secure significant wickets; pacer Nandre Burger (2/32) and Yuzvendra Chahal (3/11) shared five wickets between them.
We were reasonably situated. Hardik Pandya
In the meantime, new captain Hardik Pandya expressed his confidence in his team’s ability to win, as they have the belief to overcome their current difficult situation while also considering the game and MI’s losing run. Furthermore, he exhorted his teammates to strive to play under pressure with a more optimistic attitude. Hardik accepted responsibility for the batting collapse and acknowledged that his outing for attempting to accelerate was the tipping moment.
Also read: Trent Boult seems getting young with age: Shane Watson
“Outcomes don’t always come to pass. Not much shocks me anymore, I believe. At the press conference after the game, Pandya stated, “But collectively, we think we can accomplish a lot of better things going forward; we just need to be more disciplined and show more courage.”
“I think we were in a decent position to give us a chance to get to 150 or 160 but I think my wicket changed the game and brought them more into the game and I think I could have done better,” said Pandya.
Speaking of the run chase, RR had been in a difficult situation at one point due to the rapid loss of two wickets. To lead the visitors home with 27 balls remaining, Riyan Parag, however, carried on his amazing run at bat, scoring an undefeated 54 off 39 balls. In recognition of his steady play thus far this season, Parag was also awarded the orange cap.
Before playing Delhi at home on April 7, the five-time winners will take a little respite. As the only team in the season without a victory in their opening match, MI is currently mired at the bottom of the IPL points standings. In contrast, the Rajasthan-based team is leading following their most recent triumph and will return home on April 6 to play the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their next IPL 2024 match.
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