Mumbai: In a game that swung wildly before slipping from Mumbai Indians’ grasp, captain Hardik Pandya minced no words in identifying the root cause of their three-wicket defeat against Gujarat Titans: no-balls.
On a chaotic, rain-interrupted night at the Wankhede, where fortunes see-sawed until the final delivery, Pandya’s candid admission summed up MI’s agony. "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.
“In my eyes, it's a crime,” he said of the no-balls—two bowled by him and a crucial one by Deepak Chahar in the final over—that proved costly in a match decided on razor-thin margins.
Defending 15 runs in the last over of re-adjusted target of 147, Mumbai's hopes were dented when Deepak Chahar overstepped at a critical moment. Earlier, Pandya’s own no-balls in the eighth over had already cost 18 runs. “That definitely bit us,” he said. “But I’m proud of the fight we showed.” (IANS)
Also Read: Virat Kohli highlights the beauty and challenges of ODI cricket
Also Watch: