IPL 2024: MI skipper Hardik Pandya showers praise on Sunrisers Hyderabad

Pandya describes Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium wicket as 'good' during post-match presentation.

Hyderabad: Following his side’s 31-run loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday, Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya heaped praise on Hyderabad and said that they batted well.

While speaking at the post-match presentation, Pandya said that the wicket was ‘good’ at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

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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 showered praise on the Proteas pacer Kwena Maphaka and said that he was ‘fantastic’ in the game.

“Not really (thought SRH would score 277 at the toss). Wicket was good, 277 no matter how bad or good you bowl, if the opposition 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 was helping 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. If the ball goes this many times into the crowd, you will need time to get the overs done. Everyone (the batters) looked good and it is just a matter of time before we put things right. He (Kwena Maphaka) was fantastic, coming into his first game and getting overwhelmed, he was alright and backed his skillset, just needs some game time,” Pandya said.

Recapping the match, MI skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and asked the hosts, SRH, to bat first at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Openers Mayank Aggarwal and Travis Head played attacking shots from the start of the inning. They built a partnership of 45 runs in just 4 overs before Mayank was dismissed on the first ball of the inning by Hardik.

Markram came to support Abhishek after Head’s wicket. Both batters played brilliantly and put on a partnership of 48 runs in just 19 balls before Abhishek was dismissed after playing a marvellous inning of 63 runs in just 23 balls with the help of seven maximums and three boundaries.

Following Abhishek’s wicket, Klassen came into the middle to bat along with Markram. Both of them built an unbeaten partnership of 116 runs off just 55 balls. Markram and Klaasen were on the crease and powered Hyderabad to a total of 277/3 after the end of the 20th over.

During the run chase, Rohit Sharma (26 runs from 12 balls) and Ishan Kishan (34 balls from 13 balls) opened for the visitors and gave the Mumbai-based franchise a fiery start. However, two quick dismissals helped Hyderabad to make a comeback in the match. Tilak Varma (64 runs from 34 balls) was the only standout batter for Mumbai. He slammed two fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 188.24 during his time on the crease. Tim David (42 runs from 22 balls) tried to make a partnership with Tilak but still failed to chase the high-scoring target. Jaydev Unadkat and Pat Cummins led the Hyderabad bowling attack as they scalped two wickets each in their respective spells.