Sudharsan-Omarzai denying Hardik’s homecoming triumph in a humdinger

In his inaugural stint as captain for MI, Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to field against the Gujarat Titans on their home ground. The opening duo of Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill provided a brisk start, notching up a 31-run partnership before Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Saha with a sensational delivery.

Sai Sudharsan, batting at No. 3, joined forces with Gill to compile a solid 47-run powerplay score. However, just as the GT skipper was gearing up for an aggressive stance, he was caught by Rohit Sharma at long-on in the eighth over.

Azmatullah Omarzai and Sudharsan built on the momentum, adding 40 runs for the third wicket before Gerald Coetzee dismissed Omarzai. Despite the promising start, GT’s middle order faltered, losing crucial wickets to Bumrah. Rahul Tewatia’s brief cameo salvaged GT’s innings, leading to a total of 168/4 in 20 overs.

MI faced an early setback with Azmatullah Omarzai dismissing Ishan Kishan in the first over. However, Naman Dhir’s quickfire innings of 20 off 10 balls provided a brief respite before Azmatullah struck again in the third over. Rohit Sharma (43) and Dewald Brevis steadied the ship, adding 52 runs in the powerplay.

The duo continued to build the innings with sensible batting, but R Sai Kishore dismissed Sharma in the 13th over. Brevis fell to Mohit Sharma in the 16th over while attempting to accelerate.

With the required run rate climbing, MI lost momentum, and despite a valiant effort from Hardik Pandya, they fell short by six runs, ultimately managing 162/7 in their allotted 20 overs.

Updated: March 25, 2024 at 8:55 am

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