"I can't let a young gun get away with something right?" - Hardik Pandya on his battle with Umran Malik in loss against SRH in IPL 2022
Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Hardik Pandya believes that his side were marginally short of a par score at the DY Patil Stadium on Monday, April 11. The Titans were up against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The new franchise suffered their first loss in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 after three wins on the trot.
After being put into bat first, the Titans were restricted to 162-7 in the first innings. Skipper Pandya led from the front with his first fifty as captain, Abhinav Manohar contributing a valuable cameo as well.
Despite keeping things tight in the powerplay, the SRH batting unit constructed a perfect chase for the second game running.
Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson put on 64 for the first wicket. The SRH skipper continued to be the anchor while Nicholas Pooran came in as the finisher following an injury to Rahul Tripathi.
Nicholas Pooran hits the winnings runs as @SunRisers win by 8 wickets against #GujaratTitans
Scorecard - bit.ly/TATAIPL-2022-21 #SRHvGT #TATAIPL https://t.co/F5o01VSEHv
Opining that a few extra runs in the first innings would have made a difference, the all-rounder said during the post-match presentation:
"I think batting-wise, maybe we were 7-10 runs short. Those 10 runs would have made a difference in the end. We had a good start with the ball but those two overs in the powerplay brought them back into the game."
The pivotal moment in the game came when Umran Malik was introduced into the attack after the powerplay. Pandya was given a major wake-up call after the speedster's potent bouncer hit him flush on the helmet. Waving away treatment, the all-rounder responded by dispatching the next two deliveries for boundaries.
Speaking about the mini-battle between him and Malik, Pandya said:
"With all due respect I can't let a young gun get away with something right? The IPL is tough so it kind of woke me up and it felt nice after that."
The Titans' captain added:
"They bowled well and stuck to their plan - there was varying bounce with their bowlers also having different heights. I didn't get that one shot I wanted."
Despite a shaky start and conceding 20 extras in the first innings, the SRH bowlers arguably restricted GT to a below par total. T Natarajan was the pick of the bowlers with a spell of 2-34, continuing his fine run in the tournament.
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"We will have a good laugh and move on with our next game" - Hardik Pandya
Suffering their first loss after three successful outings, Pandya stated that the IPL team will regroup and prepare for their next game with a positive mindset.
"Our motto has always been the same which is to learn from our mistakes whatever the result is. We will have a good laugh and move on with our next game coming up in a couple of days' time so we have to get prepared for that."
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Streak toota hai toh dil kabhi jalta hai...
Haan thoda dard hua, par chalta hai ❤️🩹
#SeasonOfFirsts #SRHvGT #AavaDe https://t.co/yypfaXqI4M
According to the IPL schedule 2022, GT will next face table-toppers Rajasthan Royals at the same venue on April 14 (Thursday).