Hardik Pandya falls frustrated several times during SunRisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) chase as Gujarat Titans fell to their first defeat of the season on Monday. The Sunrisers chased down a target of 163 with ease, winning the match by eight wickets with five balls to spare.
In the 13th over of the innings, GT captain Pandya brought himself back for his second spell. His SRH counterpart Kane Williamson hit him for back-to-back sixes off the second and third ball of the over. GT then had a chance to dismiss Williamson’s partner Rahul Tripathi off the last ball of the over when the batter tried an uppercut which seemed to be flying towards deep third man.
Mohammed Shami was standing in the position and he could have completed the catch had he run forward. Instead, Shami stayed where he was and even moved back a couple of steps to collect the ball on the bounce. Pandya was visibly incensed by that, with replays showing him screaming at Shami after the fielding effort.
While commentator Graeme Swann defended Pandya after the match, fans did not seem to be impressed by the all-rounder.
Pandya scored an unbeaten 50 off 42 balls to lead GT to 162/7. While he had aggressively started off his innings, the loss of wickets at the other end forced him to slow down. Williamson played oppositely, taking his own time to score runs in the first 25 balls before teeing off and scoring 57 off 46. He was dismissed by Pandya in the 17th over after which Nicholas Pooran saw them over the finishing line.
