"At Least Try For A Six": Ex-India Star 'Irked' By Hardik Pandya's Batting vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

The IPL 2024 match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday turned to be a proper run fest with a combined 523 runs scored between the two sides. Sunrisers Hyderabad were in devastating form as they posted a total of 277/3 and in reply, Mumbai Indians played good cricket but ended up falling 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 that he expected a 'big-hitting 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 not do his side any favours.

“If you look at the strike rate of MI batters... Hardik Pandya is a big-hitting player, but he struck at only 120. Yes, the bowling was good at that time, but one thing that irked me was the shots he hit against back-of-length. He was hitting the shots down the ground,” Tiwary told Cricbuzz.

“Generally, when the asking rate is 14-15, and you have such a big player, you'd want them to at least try for a six. Attempting to get a single or two, or even a four, wasn't the demand of the situation. That irked me. And that shows he is not in good form. In the last match, he did start well but was dismissed. We have seen that he has rescued the team on many occasions,” he added.

Meanwhile, while speaking at the post-match presentation, Pandya said that 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 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.

(With ANI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Hardik Pandya Manoj Tiwary Sunrisers Hyderabad Mumbai Indians IPL 2024 Cricket