No-balls bowled were ‘a crime’, says Hardik after last-ball loss that sees the Mumbai Indians drop to 4th place.
Hardik Pandya shed light on MI’s three no-balls that proved game-changing each time they were bowled.
Hardik Pandya, the captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI), was the one who ruined the turn of events following a wild game that went down to the final ball, allowing both teams an opportunity to learn from their mistakes. He believed that the three no-balls—two from Tilak Varma and one from Deepak Chahar in the last over—were a “crime” that cost them the match, more so than the dropped catch off Shubman Gill (on 35, he made 43).
The eighth over went for eighteen runs after Hardik bowled two no-balls. Crucially, however, MI lost a rain-affected thriller against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Mumbai after Chahar bowled a no-ball at a critical moment while defending 14 in the penultimate over.
“The catches didn’t really cost us. We were very clinical with that,” Hardik said after MI’s three-wicket defeat. “Maybe definitely with the no-balls, with my no-ball and even the last [over] no-ball.
“That, in my eyes, indeed it’s a crime, and most often than not it kind of bites you. It definitely did to us, but at the same point of time, really happy with the boys giving their 120% and making sure that we were in the game and not giving up.”
Will Jacks scored a half-century, but MI puffed and puffed their way to 155 for 8. The final 9.3 overs saw them lose 6 for 58. However, the captain praised the bowlers for their outstanding performance in bringing the team back in the rainy conditions.
“It was definitely not a 150 wicket. I think it was a 175 [surface],” Hardik said. “We were definitely short in batting by 20-25 runs or maybe 30 runs if you would have batted well. But I think credit to the bowlers, they kept fighting and they kept bowling at the right areas.
“In the first innings, the ground was not wet. Post that, throughout the whole innings, the ball kept getting wetter. I don’t know if it helped us or not helped us, but yeah, it was difficult. Rain kept coming in. It’s always not really ideal to have a stoppage and start again and have a stoppage. But the game goes on.”