Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya has backed his bowlers following the mauling they suffered at the hands of SunRisers Hyderabad in an away clash on Wednesday (March 28). SRH slammed the highest innings total in IPL history – 277/3, with three of their batters completing fifties in the blink of a second. However, Australia legend Steve Smith was perplexed over Pandya’s decision to hold back Jasprit Bumrah during the initial overs when SRH batters were going bonkers.
Mumbai Indians bowlers had a night to forget against SRH, with none other than Bumrah able to restrict the host from thrashing everyone in this marquee clash. While the debutant Kwena Maphaka conceded 66 runs from four overs – most by an overseas bowler in his first IPL game, the spin duo of Shams Mulani and Piyush Chawla leaked 67 runs in four overs combined. Seamer Gerald Coetzee went for 57 runs but picked one wicket of Travis Head on 62 off 24 balls.
However, Pandya, who also conceded over ten runs per over, going for 46 off his four, admitted the night was tough for bowlers but hailed the batting display on offer by SRH. He said no matter what, scoring 277 in a T20 game is some effort and should be complemented.
Skipper also backed his bowlers to come good in games to come, admitting the attack was new and that he liked what he saw.
“The wicket was good. I think SRH batted really, really well. It was tough for the bowlers. 277, no matter how good or bad you bowl, if the opposition gets 277 that means they batted very well. We tried as a bowling unit, but couldn’t get the breakthroughs. We could have tried a few things, but we have a young bowling attack. I liked what I saw,” Pandya said after MI’s 31-run defeat in Hyderabad.
Pandya’s captaincy baffles Smith
Speaking on Star Sports during SRH’s innings, Smith pointed out Pandya’s mistake, saying that not bringing on their best bowler while Head and Abhishek Sharma were tearing down the MI attack drifted the game away from Mumbai.
Smith said had he been at Pandya’s place, he wouldn’t have waited for the death overs for Bumrah to come and restrict the run flow and instead have brought him earlier to put a full stop on run leakage and pick a wicket.
“I think they missed a trick in bringing Bumrah back in the 13th over. When the ball’s going around like that, you’ve just got to bring your best bowler back earlier than you would’ve liked. It’s just about adapting on the go. I would’ve bowled Bumrah out by the 15-16th over to try to get some wickets,” Smith said on Star.
