IPL 2018: Rohit Sharma optimistic about Hardik Pandya's recovery

Mumbai Indians (MI) have had an abysmal start to their campaign of the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They dominated throughout their contest against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), however, succumbed to some brutal hitting by Dwayne Bravo. To add insult to their injury, Hardik Pandya, one of their key players injured his ankle following an attempt to go for a second run.

To Mumbai’s relief, the Baroda cricketer returned and bowled his quota of four overs in which he nipped out the crucial wickets of Shane Watson and Suresh Raina. Rohit Sharma’s men will play their next game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Meanwhile, the skipper of the Mumbai Indians shared an update regarding Pandya’s recovery.

“He will be fine”- Rohit Sharma

“He’s looking good for now. He twisted his ankle but he came (back on the field) and bowled four overs. We still have three days (for the next match, against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 12). I think he will be fine,” Sharma was quoted as saying during the launch of ‘AlphaBounce Beyond’, a running footwear by Adidas.

Wankhede has always favoured the team batting second and the scenario wasn’t any different in the last game. Mumbai were the firm favourites to win the game until Dwayne Bravo turned the game on its head. The Mumbai batsman also highlighted the difficulties of stemming the flow of runs at the Wankhede Stadium when the opposition batsmen get the measure of the conditions.

“You cannot do much about it. At Wankhede, it is always difficult to contain batsmen once they are set. With the dew and all those factors, it is very hard for the bowlers, but that is not an excuse. I am just trying to say what exactly happened on that day and in that particular over,” he added.

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Here’s the Mumbai Indians’ squad

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