"Only Rashid Turned Up...": Hardik Pandya Reacts After Gujarat Titans' Defeat To Mumbai Indians

Following his side's 27-run loss to Mumbai Indians (MI) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya said that it felt that only Rashid Khan turned up from their group for the game and their bowling felt flat. Rashid Khan's valiant knock of 79(32) was insufficient as Mumbai Indians registered a 27-run victory against Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium in Maharashtra's Mumbai on Friday.

"Felt like from our team only he (Rashid) turned up. The way he batted, the way he bowled, it was tremendous. Do not have to try much (after this result). As a group, we were not there. In bowling also we were very flat. Did not have clear plans or did not execute. Wicket was very flat but I felt we gave 25 runs extra. Have spoken enough about him (Surya). One of the best batters in T20 cricket. You saw what can happen if you do not execute your plans. For me, it is very important that as a bowler you are clear. I can only set the fields. We lacked a lot of execution and heart. That cost us the game. The intensity was also flat. Expected things to happen, but everyone knows at this level it does not just happen," said Hardik in a post-match presentation.

Being put to bat first by GT, MI put up 218/5 on the board in their 20 overs. Openers Ishan Kishan (31 off 20 balls) and skipper Rohit Sharma (29 off 18 balls) provided a quick start with a quick 61-run opening stand.

However, Rashid Khan removed the openers and Nehal Wadhera (15) to reduce MI to 88/3. From there, it was a 'Suryakukar Yadav show'. He put on a 65-run stand for the fourth wicket with Vishnu Vinod (30 off 20 balls). Suryakumar ended up scoring his maiden IPL century, a knock of 103* in 49 balls