Hardik Pandya’s captaincy stint for Mumbai Indians (MI) hasn’t got off to the best of starts as the franchise on Wednesday (March 27) suffered its second successive defeat in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Playing against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), MI won the toss and opted to bowl first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. However, the five-time champions lost the plot in the first innings itself as the hosts racked up a gigantic 277/3 on the board - the highest team total in IPL history.
Chasing a mammoth total, MI managed to score 246/5 in their allotted 20 overs. While Hardik was pleased with the effort of his batters, he admitted that it was tough out in the middle.
"The wicket was good but 277, no matter how good or bad you bowl, if the opposition get 277 that means they batted very well. [Bowlers] were good. It was tough out there. Close to 500 runs were scored so the wicket was helping the batters. We could have tried a few different things, but we have a young bowling attack and I liked what I saw today," Pandya said at the post-match presentation.
"If the ball goes this much in the crowd, it's definitely different to run around and complete the overs in time. Everyone batted really well, counting Tilak, Ro, Ishan. There are just few things we need to do right and we'll be alright. [On Maphaka] I think he was fantastic you know. Coming into your first game and getting overwhelmed by this kind of crowd. He showed great heart. He has the skillset," he added.
Coming to the match, SRH lost Mayank Agarwal (11 off 13 balls) cheaply after being asked to bat first. However, the duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma wreaked havoc on the MI bowlers, smashing quickfire half-centuries.
While Head scored 62 off 24 balls (9 fours and 3 sixes) before getting out, Abhishek slammed 63 off 23 balls with 3 fours and 7 sixes.
After their dismissals, the South African pair of Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen took the MI bowling attack to the cleaners. Since the platform was set, they started dealing in boundaries from the outset.
Markram and Klaasen added an unbroken 116-run stand for the fourth wicket, propelling SRH to a new highest total in the IPL, surpassing RCB’s record of 263. While Heinrich Klaasen returned with 80 not out off 34 balls (4 fours and 7 sixes), Aiden Markram remained unbeaten on 42 off 28 balls.
In response, Mumbai Indians put up a valiant effort, with Tilak Varma leading the charge with a quickfire 64 off just 34 balls. Tim David also contributed an unbeaten 42 off 22 deliveries to keep MI in the contest.
Despite their efforts, the Hardik Pandya-led side lost the match by a big margin of 31 runs. They are currently languishing at the ninth spot on the points table, featuring 10 teams.
Mumbai Indians will next face Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday (April 1).
