Pandya Loses Cool: 'It's a Crime!' After Mumbai Indians Fall to Gujarat Titans
NEW DELHI: The captain of the Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya, referred to the numerous no-balls committed by himself and his team members as a “crime” following their narrow three-wicket loss through the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method during an intense match against the Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium. Amidst fierce competition for playoff spots, torrential rainfall temporarily shifted the advantage towards Mumbai, putting them ahead by five runs according to the DLS calculations after 18 overs. While the Mumbai side stayed optimistic about securing a victory due to weather conditions from within their locker room, the Gujarat Titans were poised and prepared for all eventualities.
Eventually, there was just enough time left on the clock for a one-over shootout to determine the winner. GT needed 15 runs off the final six deliveries, and Mumbai were left with only four fielders outside the inner circle after being penalised for a slow over rate.
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Deepak Chahar was assigned the responsibility of delivering the last over. He allowed a four and subsequently a huge six, making the run chase five off three deliveries. Under duress, he delivered a no-ball which firmly shifted the advantage to the Titans.
Alongside Deepak's expensive mistake, Hardik also crossed the line illegally two times in his brief eight-over stint that saw him face just 11 balls. MI faced more than their share of boundary ride issues; earlier in the game, they missed a significant opportunity when they couldn't hang onto a catch from Gujarat skipper Shubman Gill right at the start of the twelfth over. Despite mistiming an attempt against Ashwini Kumar, Gill managed to loft the ball, but Tilak Varma, who dashed across to make the grab, was unable to secure it.
After reflecting on the loss, which broke MI’s run of six consecutive wins, Hardik commented, “The dropped catches didn’t hurt us too much, but the no-balls certainly did—especially mine and another one at the end. In T20 matches, missing those balls feels like a serious mistake, and usually comes back to haunt you. However, I’m very pleased with how the team gave 120%, kept us competitive throughout, and never surrendered.”
After Mumbai's batsmen delivered a disappointing showing, their bowlers mounted a spirited fightback. Despite early setbacks for the top order, contributions from Will Jacks (53), Suryakumar Yadav (35), and Corbin Bosch (27) helped propel MI to 155/8, aided somewhat by a few lucky breaks.
Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult spearheaded a determined bowling performance. Bumrah sent back Gill and Shahrukh Khan, whereas Boult had Sherfane Rutherford caught lbw, keeping Mumbai Indians in contention.
Hardik acknowledged that Mumbai fell short by 20-30 runs from a competitive target, yet he praised the bowlers for showing tenacity.
"Absolutely, it was a tough way to go down. Despite having limited resources, we put up a good fight. Often, we found ourselves trailing, yet we persevered as a team. The match came down to small margins," he stated.
"It was definitely not a 150-wicket. It was a 175-wicket, we were short in batting by 20-25 or maybe 30 runs if we had batted well. Credit to the bowlers. They kept fighting, and we could not finish the job," he added.
Repeated rain interruptions disrupted the game, but despite these not being ideal conditions, Hardik emphasized the importance of adapting to the situation.
"The ground, in the first innings, was not wet, but post that, throughout, the ball kept getting wetter. Not sure if it helped us or not, it was difficult. Rain kept coming in, not ideal to have stoppages and start again. But the game goes on, we had to play a game (in the end), and we definitely did," he concluded.
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