Don’t believe much in chop and change: Pandya after loss against RR

At 20/3, Mumbai Indians were in a state of bother. Everything that Rajasthan Royals did turned to gold, and in a dire strait, Mumbai needed new heroes, and in came Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera. The two left-handed batters put on a show against the Royals, amassing 99 runs in between them for the fifth-wicket partnership. 

While Tilak got out after scoring a 45-ball 65, his partner Wadhera put on a show with a swashbuckling 24-ball 49, where he smashed three fours and four sixes, helping Mumbai put on 179 runs on the board. In the post-match presentation, Mumbai’s skipper Hardik Pandya praised the duo and stated that it was their partnership which helped them put on a respectable total on the board. 

“We put ourselves in trouble early on. The way Tilak and Nehal batted - that was fantastic. I don't think that when we lost a couple of wickets early we thought we would even reach 180. We didn't finish well and that's why we were 10-15 runs short,” Hardik said in the post-match presentation. 

179 proved to be an easy chase in the end for the rampant Royals outfit, who knocked the target off in just 18.4 overs, showing that they are the team in form. Hardik insisted that it wasn’t the best day in the field for the five-time IPL winners, adding that the opposition thoroughly outplayed them. 

“We had to keep it within the stumps (while bowling). Early on in the powerplay, we gave a lot of width and I don't think it was our best day in the field as well. Overall, we did not put the right foot on the park and eventually they outplayed us. After the game, it's not the right time to go to the players, everyone is professional, they know their roles,” he added. 

Despite making multiple changes to the setup, the 30-year-old reckoned that he wasn’t someone who believes in ‘chop and change’. 

“I don't believe much in chop and change, I like to back players and the focus would always be to play good cricket, sticking to our plans and making sure that we don't make the basic errors,” he insisted. 

Meanwhile, Sanju Samson was a happy man in the post-match presentation and credited his team for putting on yet another convincing display. 

"The credit has to go to all the players. We started well in the powerplay and then the left-handers played Chahal and Ashwin well. But the way Sandeep and Avesh came back, that's why we won the game,” Samson said. 

One of the biggest highlights of the game for Rajasthan was Yashasvi Jaiswal’s return to form. The left-hander put on a destructive batting display in Jaipur, smashing his second IPL century against Mumbai Indians, scoring 104 off just 60 balls. 

“The wicket was dry but when the lights came on, the wicket gets better to bat. The way Jos and Yashasvi batted, we knew we had to reset and go again. People are professionals, we backed them to do well. Jaiswal is full of confidence, we knew it was a matter of one game. He was calm, composed, very happy for him," he added. 

However, the biggest damage of the night came through an unlikely source in the form of Sandeep Sharma, who picked up a five-wicket haul, removing Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David and ended with Gerald Coetzee’s wicket. His figures of 5/18 were his best-ever figures in the tournament. 

“(The) Pitch was on slower side and lower side, so my plan was to keep bowling variations and cutters. If you're bowling in the end, you have to have big heart. Have seen in the IPL, bowlers are under the pump. Need to have big heart and keep executing plans,” Sandeep Sharma spoke in the post-match presentation. 

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