The IPL 2024 match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday turned out to be a real run-fest with a total of 523 runs scored between the two sides. Sunrisers Hyderabad were in devastating form with a total of 277/3 and in reply, Mumbai Indians played good cricket but ultimately fell short by 31 runs. While there were several good batting performances in the match, former India star Manoj Tiwary was disappointed with MI skipper Hardik Pandya’s performance. In his analysis, Tiwari said he expected a ‘big player’ like Hardik to look for more big shots and in a match where the target was so high, his strike rate of 120 did his side no favours.
“If you look at the strike rate of MI batters… Hardik Pandya is a high-hitting player, but he only batted at 120. Yes, the bowling was good at that time, but one thing that annoyed me was the shots he hit. hitting the back of the length. He hit the shots on the ground,” Tiwary said Itch.
“Generally speaking, if the asking price is 14-15, and you have such a big player, you would want them to at least try a six. Trying to get one or two, or even a four, was not the requirement of the situation. That irritated me. And that shows that he is not in good shape. In the last match he started well, but was sent off. We have seen him save the team on many occasions,” he added.
Meanwhile, during the post-match presentation, Pandya said the wicket was ‘good’ at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
He accepted that they have a ‘young bowling attack’ and they will learn from the 31-run loss against the Hyderabad-based franchise. The MI skipper praised Proteas pacer Kwena Maphaka, saying he was ‘fantastic’ in the match.
“Not really (thought SRH would score 277 in the toss). Wicket was good, 277, no matter how bad or good you bowl, if the opponent 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 helped 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. So often in the crowd, have you need time to get the overs done. Everyone (the batters) looked good and it’s only a matter of time before we put things right. He (Kwena Maphaka) was fantastic and came in his first games and got overwhelmed, he was fine and supported his skills, he just needs some game time,” Pandya said.
(With ANI inputs)
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