Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill gave an aggressive send-off to Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya during the thrilling clash between two teams at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 24.
Hardik walked out to bat when MI were 142/5 after Tim David's dismissal and needed 27 runs off 12 balls to win the match for GT. The Mumbai Indians captain put the pressure on Gujarat Titans as he smashed a six and a four off Umesh Yadav, bringing the equation down to 9 off 4 balls from 19 off six balls in the final over.
On the third ball of the final over of GT's 169-run chase, Hardik Pandya mistimed his shot off Umesh Yadav's bouncer and gave an easy catch to Rahul Tewatia who was positioned at long-on. Hardik's wicket shifted the momentum of the game towards Gujarat Titans.
In a viral video, Shubman Gill can be seen celebrating crucial wicket of Hardik Pandya aggressively by giving a fiery send-off.
Hardik Pandya had a forgettable outing as he scored just 11 runs off 4 balls and kicked off his captaincy stint with Mumbai Indians with a six-run defeat against Shubman Gill's Gujarat Titans. Pandya received a hostile reception as he was booed by the crowd at Ahmedabad stadium during the toss.
Hardik Pandya has been receiving end of the Mumbai Indians fans as he replaced Rohit Sharma as a captain. Throughout the match against Gujarat Titans, the 30-year-old was under the scrutiny of the fans, who were observing his captaincy skills and ready to pounce on any error in fielding placements.
'We lost little bit of momentum': Hardik Pandya after MI defeat
Skipper Hardik Pandya admitted that Mumbai Indians' lost the momentum despite being in a position to chase down the target of 169. The all-rounder added that it feels good for him to return and play in front of Ahmedabad crowd.
"Obviously we backed ourselves to chase those 42 runs but it was one of those days when we see the score quite less compared to what it could have been in five overs, I think we lost little bit of momentum there." Pandya said at the post-match presentation.
"It feels good to be back because this is one stadium where you can enjoy and feel the atmosphere quite lively and obviously the crowd was full and they got a good game as well." he added.
At the end of 16th over, Mumbai Indians required 39 off 24 balls to win, with Tilak Verma and Tim David at the crease. In the next three overs, MI lost Tilak and David and scored just 19 runs. Ultimately, the visitors fell just six runs short of achieving the target.
