‘Can't let a young gun get away’ – Hardik Pandya on his battle with SRH speedster Umran Malik

Gujarat Titans’ winning streak in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 finally came to an end on Monday (April 11) as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated the side by eight wickets at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. As GT could only post 162/7 on a good batting track, GT skipper Hardik reckoned his side was 7-10 runs short as SRH bowlers were right on the money.

Meanwhile, Hardik enjoyed a good outing in the middle as he scored an unbeaten 50 and later dismissed his SRH counterpart Kane Williamson. While this was Hardik’s first half-century in GT colours, he wasn’t at his fluent best as he walked back after scoring 50 off 42 balls. During his stay, he was also engaged in a mini-battle with SRH speedster Umran Malik.

Umran greeted Hardik with a potent bouncer that hit the latter on his helmet, giving the GT captain a wake-up call. The dasher responded emphatically, dispatching his next two balls for boundaries. Speaking of his encounter with the Jammu & Kashmir pacer, Hardik said he wasn’t going to let the youngster go away after smashing his helmet.

SRH bowled well and stuck to their plan: Hardik Pandya

“With all due respect I can’t let a young gun get away with something right? The IPL is tough so it kind of woke me up and it felt nice after that,” said Hardik after the game. “They bowled well and stuck to their plan – there was varying bounce with their bowlers also having different heights. I didn’t get that one shot I wanted,” he added.

Meanwhile, GT did well at patches while defending 162. However, contributions from skipper Kane Williamson, Abhishek Sharma and Nicholas Pooran meant the Orange Army crossed the line with five balls to spare. Hardik, after the defeat, said his team will regroup and learn from their mistakes.

“Our motto has always been the same which is to learn from our mistakes whatever the result is. We will have a good laugh and move on with our next game coming up in a couple of days’ time so we have to get prepared for that,” he added.

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