Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya drew some flak from fans for venting out at bowling spearhead Mohammed Shami for not going for the catch at a crucial juncture of the game. Hardik lost his cool at his teammate in the 13th over of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) run chase on April 11.
As Rahul Tripathi attempted an uppercut, Shami stopped the ball on the bounce at deep third man position instead of going for the catch. Shami’s response prompted a frustrated response from Hardik as he wanted him to attempt the catch. When Tripathi attempted the cheeky shot, he was batting on 10 off 10 deliveries. The no.3 batter hit a six off the next delivery he faced before walking off the field retired hurt.
Former England cricketer Graeme Swann backed Hardik. Also, he feels that Hardik's captaincy is not to be blamed for Titans' first loss of the season after three consecutive wins.
"I will tell you what we shouldn't do though. We shouldn't look at it and say all of a sudden Hardik is not a good captain. The fact that they did not score enough runs lost them the game, not Hardik Pandya's captaincy. He shuffled his packs quite well but of course, your nerves get a bit fried as a skipper or a bowler (in tense situations). It was not Hardik's captaincy but the lack of runs that cost them", Swann said on Star Sports.
Similarly, former Australian opener Mathew Hayden said that it was an important juncture of the game and Titans needed to be more attacking in their fielding as they did not have enough runs on the board.
"I reckon this was a really pivotal moment in the match, he was bowling at good speed. Mohammed Shami was on the boundary and he made no effort. In fact, he retreated back to the boundary I won't say he avoided the catch necessarily", Hayden said.
"He really needed to go harder inside the boundary. When you are not defending much, it's about really working hard for your mates, and taking the effort catches and make the plays. Be it run-out or catches or just assists, in general, to stop a batter from scoring boundaries", he added.
Titans are ranked placed fourth on the points table on the basis of inferior net run rate (NRR). They are scheduled to play defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their next encounter on April 17.
