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It is one thing backing your bowlers but Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya became too diplomatic after a 31-run defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad. While the pitch at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium was a batting paradise, Pandya said his bowlers were good after conceding a record-breaking 277/3. He even went on to call debutant Kwena Maphaka fantastic after he bagged an unwanted record conceding 66 runs from his quota of four overs.
“Wicket was good, 277 no matter how bad or good you bowl, if the opposition has to score that much, they have batted well. They (the bowlers) were good, it was tough out there, almost 500 runs were scored and the wicket was helping the batters, we could have done a few things here and there, but having said that, we have a young bowling attack and we will learn,” the 30-year-old told the broadcasters.
17-year-old South African pacer Maphaka conceded just seven runs from his first over but ended up conceding 59 in his next three. He broke Michael Neser’s 11-year-old record for most runs conceded for a bowler on IPL debut.
“He was fantastic, coming into his first game and getting overwhelmed, he was alright and backed his skillset, just needs some game time,” Pandya added.
Hardik holds back Bumrah again
However, Pandya stuck to his ‘Plan A’ and held Jasprit Bumrah even when the ball was travelling to the stands more than the fielders’ hands. Heinrich Klaasen who smashed seven sixes in his unbeaten 34-ball 80 had pointed out that not bowling Bumrah led to SRH breaking Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) record of highest total in Indian Premier League (IPL) history.
"I feel they missed the trick upfront by not bowling him (Bumrah) inside the powerplay and we have got the best strikers. They didn't use their best bowlers. It was incredible to have my best mate with me at the end of the innings who also played a fantastic knock," Klaasen told the broadcasters.
Hardik’s traditional knock in an extraordinary run chase
Hardik was unimpressive with the bat as well. He came to bat ahead of Tim David but scored 24 runs from 20 balls. His strike rate was below par for a normal T20 game, let alone in a run chase of 278.
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