Watch: Hardik Pandya's arrogant spring-bat shot and cold stare after powering Mumbai Indians to a win

Mumbai Indians recently registered their second victory of the IPL 2024 season after defeating Royal Challengers Bengaluru by seven wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on 11th April. The team’s captain Hardik Pandya was brutally criticized for the team’s three back-to-back losses, however the franchise has made a strong comeback in the previous two matches at home. 

Pandya was also trolled for his low strike rate and mediocre performances for Mumbai Indians. However in the recently concluded match against RCB, Pandya scored 21 runs off 6 deliveries at a whopping strike rate of 350. The Indian all-rounder smashed 3 gigantic sixes across the stadium leading Mumbai towards the victory. 

Initially as he entered the field after Rohit Sharma’s dismissal, the crowd began booing him. Smashing a six on the first ball, got the crowd to go bananas for Hardik Pandya as they erupted in joy and cheered for their captain. The Mumbai Indians skipper concluded the innings for the team with a huge six giving a cold stare to the RCB bowler Akash Deep while chasing the 197 runs target within 15.3 overs. 

 

Hardik Pandya's match winning six. ✨ pic.twitter.com/Rw5trLLN8F

— Demon Slayer 👺 (@Oneofthemankind) April 11, 2024

Hardik Pandya hails Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav for their stellar performances against RCB 

In the postmatch presentation, Hardik Pandya was delighted to register another win for Mumbai Indians. He also elaborated how the impact player rule helps the captains in the IPL. 

Pandya said, “Always good to win. The way we have won - it's quite impressive. Impact player has us given the opportunity to use an extra bowler if required. It gives me a cushion as well. At the same point, if someone is having a bad day, it helps us to cover those overs. The way Ro and Kishan batted, giving the platform, it was important for us to finish it early. We didn't speak about it. That's the beauty of this team, players know what the situation is. As soon as we saw the target get lesser, we thought we might as well finish it early for NRR.” 

The MI Skipper also lauded Bumrah for his second five wicket haul in the IPL. 

He stated, “Blessed to have Bumrah in my side. He does it over and over again. Any time I ask him to bowl, he comes and does what he does. He practices a lot. Before doing anything in the game, he makes sure he practices in the nets. The amount of experience and confidence he has is tremendous.” 

Hardik further congratulated Suryakumar Yadav for his stellar comeback in the IPL after an injury. 

“I did tell him when he scored the fifty that welcome back (Surya). Always good to have Surya in your team with the areas he hits. I've been opposition captain as well against him, it's tough to field for him. Some places he hits, I've never seen batters hit there. (I'll do) Whatever the situation requires - last game I had to take some time, and this game's scenario was different. I've always been a fan of whatever the situation demands”, Hardik Pandya concluded. 

Mumbai Indians will next meet their archrivals Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on 14th April.