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Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya blamed young Indian batter Tilak Varma's lack of intent against Axar Patel for their 10-run defeat to Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday, April 27. The 21-year-old was the top scorer for MI, scoring 63 runs off 32 balls, in a 258-run chase.
Delhi's left-arm orthodox spinner Axar Patel bowled just two overs in the match and out of those 12 deliveries, Tilak Varma was on strike for six. According to captain Hardik Pandya, who was batting the other end, the four singles taken by Tilak Varma instead of going for big shots were the reason behind his team's loss.
Speaking to the official broadcasters after the loss about what went wrong for MI, he said:
"When) Axar was bowling to a left-hander (Tilak), the better option could have been to go after him. I think it was just a little game awareness that we missed out. At the end of the day, that cost us the game."
Axar Patel came in to bowl during the eighth of Mumbai Indians' innings when the visitors had scored 72-3. Tilak, who faced two balls in that over, scored two singles. During the 10th over, which was Axar's last of the game, Tilak Varma scored two singles, a four and a six in four balls.
"We backed ourselves to do it, the self-belief was there" - Hardik Pandya
While expressing his thoughts on the challenges faced by bowlers in the ongoing IPL, Hardik Pandya admitted that his team backed themselves to chase the target, saying:
"The way the games are going and how the bowlers are under pressure throughout the competition, we backed ourselves to do it, the self-belief (was there). But if I have to pinpoint, a couple overs in the middle, we could’ve taken some extra chances."
Currently, the five-time IPL winners are ninth in the points table with six points from nine matches. Next up, they will face the Lucknow Super Giants in an away encounter at the Ekana Stadium on Tuesday, April 30.
