Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has blamed Hardik Pandya's decision-making as the reason behind Mumbai Indians' 10-run loss against Delhi Capitals. He questioned why Jasprit Bumrah did not start the first over against Jake-Fraser McGurk as the Aussie batter has never played against the veteran Indian pacer.
Irfan Pathan on MI's loss vs DC
Irfan Pathan believes that if MI had started with Bumrah instead of Luke Wood, things might have been different for the five-time champions. Jake Fraser-McGurk was undoubtedly the game-changer for DC. He smashed 19 runs in the first over against Wood and then Bumrah also gave away 18 runs in his first over because of him.
“Cricket is a small margin game and that was a small margin victory for DC vs MI. Bumrah should have started in front of Fraser McGurk as he never played Bumrah before. Things might have been different,” Irafan wrote from his official ‘X’ account formerly known as Twitter.
Jake Fraser-McGurk on Jasprit Bumrah
Jake Fraser-McGurk revealed that he was watching Bumrah's footage in order to prepare for the big clash. The young Aussie batter was in fine touch from the very first ball of the match and was also the most successful batter of the match. He even received a Player of the Match award for his blazing knock of 84 runs off just 27 balls against MI.
“It was pretty nervous. I had looked at his (Bumrah's) footage all day. But in the game everything goes out of the window and you just have to see the ball. It is good to test yourself against the best bowler in the world. You have to ride the waves of highs and lows. These innings are good for my confidence and for my team. From outside you don't know the level of the competition, this is such a higher level than the other leagues and it is amazing to be a part of it,” said Frase-McGurk in the post-match presentation.
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