Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya has had little to celebrate in this Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 campaign. With the franchise placed 9th in the 10-team points table, and playoffs qualification chances only mathematically possible, it’s been a season to forget for Hardik and his team. But, the victory over high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad team on Monday gave a moment of joy to Hardik and his teammates, with the home side securing a 7-wicket win at Wankhede. More than MI’s win, the victory sent a sense of relief to Indian cricket fans as Hardik finally seemed to have regained his form as a bowler.
Hardik didn’t get to bat in the match but picked up 3 wickets for 31 runs in his quota of four overs. After Hardik got rid of SRH batter Shahbaz Ahmed, even Rohit came up to him and gave a big pat on the back, acknowledging the skipper’s success as a bowler.
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Terrific patrolling of the ropes
Suryakumar Yadav backs his skipper & team with a fine catch
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The victory lifted Mumbai Indians from 10th to 9th spot in the points table, though there playoffs chances still remain pretty slim.
After the game, Hardik asserted on the need to do the right things in the remainder of the campaign, as MI remain unlikely to finish among the top 4 sides.
“We want to focus on playing good cricket, still think we gave 10-15 runs extra. The way our batters batted, that was excellent. My bowling, I like to bowl in the right areas, I bowl according to the situation. Bowled in the right areas today and it worked. I was like Chawla had to bowl from the shorter side.
“He (Chawla) had to be accurate, the margin of errors have become smaller these days for the bowlers. It’s unbelievable, the best past of SKY is that he puts the bowlers under pressure. It’s sheer confidence, his game has changed, is one of the best batters. He can change a game in a different way, lucky to have him (SKY) in our side,” he said.
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