“I Could Not Finish the Game”: Hardik Pandya Takes Responsibility for 5-Run Loss vs Delhi Capitals at Narendra Modi Stadium

Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya has admitted that his 10th Indian Premier League half-century came in a forgettable effort. A batter known for his big-hitting skills scoring 59* (53) at a strike rate of 111.32 to make a mess of a 131-run target is pretty embarrassing, to say the least.

Pandya, who batted for 19 overs, didn’t face any daemons from the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium. It’s just that his recent tendency to take run-chases down to the wire like legendary captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hasn’t resulted in apt execution. Pandya, who not only takes inspiration from Dhoni but also tries to emulate him occasionally, was the biggest culprit in a 5-run loss against Delhi Capitals tonight.

Hardik Pandya Takes Responsibility for 5-Run Loss vs Delhi Capitals

Not swaying from taking responsibility for not winning a home match, Pandya claimed to have “tried his best” but it was one of those days where he just couldn’t play the big shots. Pandya, who rued not registering a couple of “big overs” in the middle-overs, himself scored just seven fours in the almost nine overs that he faced in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

“I tried my best but could not capitalize. It boils down to me. We were hoping to get a couple of big overs in the middle but at that point of time we could not get rhythm. It was new for Abhinav [Manohar] as well. It boils down to how I was not able to finish the game. Full ownership for my side where I could not finish the game. I should’ve,” Pandya told Star Sports Network in a post-match chat.

Pandya, who is slowly transforming into an anchor batter on the back of an IPL strike rate of <130 since the start of the last season, is perhaps affected by his leadership role. While Titans have been more than just a successful franchise thus far, Pandya repetitively erring at taking the bowlers to the cleaners at will is a concern especially from the perspective of the national team.

Hardik Pandya Feels Sorry for Mohammed Shami

Pandya, 29, also categorically confessed to be sorry for fast bowler Mohammed Shami. Fifth cricketer to win a Player of the Match award in a losing cause this season, Shami was instrumental to register figures of 4-0-11-4.

The fact that the right-arm bowler dismissed the likes of Phil Salt (0), Rilee Rossouw (8), Manish Pandey (1) and Priyam Garg (10) in the same spell with the new ball in hand speaks highly of his domination in the first 30 minutes or so of the match.

“I feel sorry for him [Mohammed Shami]. If you bowl like that, then you get the team on 129, I think [our] batters disappointed. I don’t think the ball did a lot. I think it’s just that Mohammed Shami’s skill set which he has and he made the ball talk,” Pandya added.

Even Shami believed that their batters should’ve performed better to seal the chase in IPL 2023 Match 44. Acknowledging that the target should’ve been achieved against a team placed at the bottom of the points table, Shami was quite dejected at the sight of losing the match.