IPL 2024: Lucky To Have Him – Hardik On SKY’s Match-Winning 102* Against SRH

IPL 2024 | Following Suryakumar Yadav's knock of 102* runs, MI skipper Hardik Pandya heaped praise on the batter.

IPL 2024: Following Suryakumar Yadav's match-winning knock of 102* runs, MI skipper Hardik Pandya heaped praise on the batter.

Images: BCCI

After Suryakumar Yadav's stellar unbeaten knock of 102 runs off 51 balls led Mumbai Indians (MI) to a commanding 7-wicket victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), skipper Hardik Pandya showered praise on the batter, expressing gratitude for having him on their team.

“Lucky to have him on our side. He can change a game in a different way,” said Hardik at the post-match presentation.

Hardik further emphasised Suryakumar's knack for putting bowlers on the back foot, noting his unwavering confidence on the field. 

"It's unbelievable, the best past of SKY is that he puts the bowlers under pressure. It's sheer confidence, his game has changed, is one of the best batters," added Hardik.

Speaking about his performance, Hardik, who claimed a three-wicket haul in the opening innings, credited his success to precise bowling execution.

“My bowling, I like to bowl in the right areas, I bowl according to the situation. Bowled in the right areas today and it worked,” said Hardik.

“I was like Chawla had to bowl from the shorter side. You got to be accurate, the margin of errors have become smaller these days for the bowlers,” he added.

Despite their commendable performance, the winning captain acknowledged room for improvement, conceding a slight lapse in discipline that led to conceding extra runs.

“We want to focus on playing good cricket, still think we gave 10-15 runs extra. The way the batters batted, that was excellent,” he concluded.