New Delhi. Even after the humiliating defeat of Mumbai Indians, new captain Hardik Pandya was seen smiling in the post match presentation. It can be a matter of debate whether this was an attempt to hide the nervousness arising from two consecutive defeats on the captaincy debut of Mumbai Indians. But, in the first two matches, Hardik’s lack of confidence was clearly visible.
The way Hardik Pandya is being trolled on social media and his captaincy is being criticized. It cannot be that Hardik would be unaware of this. The last few months have been challenging for Hardik. He is returning after injury. He was also trolled for not playing domestic cricket. Despite Sunrisers Hyderabad scoring 277 runs, Hardik said the way Mumbai Indians bowled was good.
Hardik Pandya said, "Mumbai Indians bowlers bowled well. Bowlers can’t do anything on this kind of wicket. The wicket was very good. 277 No matter how bad or well you bowl, if the opposition team makes such a big score, it means they batted very well. Our bowlers were good. Bowling was very difficult on the wicket. The fact that 500 runs were scored shows how good the wicket was for batting. We could have done something here and there, but our bowling attack is young. He doesn’t have much experience. Despite this, I am happy with what I saw."
Hardik praised 17-year-old South African fast bowler Kwena Mafaka, who scored 66 runs on his IPL debut. Pandya said, "He (Kwena Mafaka) was brilliant, coming in his first match and even under pressure, he bowled well. Just need a few more matches and Mafaka will get better.
