Pandya’s stellar performance drew praise from former captain Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians secured a crucial victory at the Wankhede Stadium.
The special moment came in the 16th over of the SRH innings when Hardik Pandya delivered a crucial breakthrough for the hosts by dismissing Sunrisers’ all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed.
Hardik Pandya celebrates a wicket with Rohit Sharma. (Video grab)
In an attempt to accelerate the scoring, Shahbaz attempted to dispatch the delivery towards the long-on region but failed to connect cleanly. The ball spiraled up in the air, only to be safely pouched by Suryakumar Yadav, who executed a commendable catch running in from the deep.
Rohit Sharma, quick to acknowledge the significance of Pandya’s contribution, approached the bowler with a congratulatory pat on the back, commending his crucial breakthrough at a crucial juncture of the game.
Throughout the middle overs, Hardik Pandya led the Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack with aplomb, ultimately finishing with impressive figures of 3 wickets for 31 runs in his allotted four overs. Supported ably by veteran spinner Piyush Chawla, who also claimed three wickets, Mumbai Indians succeeded in restricting Sunrisers Hyderabad to a total of 173 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs.
With a target of 174 runs set before them, Mumbai Indians approached the chase with confidence, largely propelled by a scintillating unbeaten innings of 102 off 51 balls from Suryakumar Yadav. Displaying remarkable batting prowess, Yadav’s innings guided Mumbai Indians to a comfortable victory, as they chased down the target with 16 balls to spare, ultimately securing a convincing 7-wicket win.