• Source:ANI
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After Mumbai Indians suffered a narrow six-run loss to the Gujarat Titans in their IPL campaign opener, skipper Hardik Pandya voiced his support for batter Tilak Varma's decision not to take a single against Rashid Khan. Despite acknowledging that the decision might have influenced the outcome of the game, Pandya stood by Varma's choice to retain strike and face the spinner instead of giving it to hard-hitting Tim David.

Mumbai Indians failed to capitalize on the momentum generated by a solid 77-run partnership between Rohit Sharma and Dewald Brevis, ultimately falling short in their pursuit of the target. One of the pivotal moments in the match was Varma's decision to back himself against Rashid Khan in the 17th over, opting not to take a single and instead take on the spinner himself, a decision that ultimately had an impact on the result.

In the post match presentation, Hardik said, "Obviously we backed ourselves to chase those runs but it was one of those days when we see the score quite less compared to what it could have been in five overs, I think we lost little bit of momentum there. It feels good to be back because this is one stadium where you can enjoy and feel the atmosphere quite lively and obviously the crowd was full and they got a good game as well. (On Tilak not taking the single vs Rashid) I think Tilak felt that was a better idea at that point of time, I completely back him, not an issue, 13 games to go."

Coming to the match, MI opted to bowl first. Gujarat Titans was largely kept silent by Jasprit Bumrah (3/14) and Gerald Coetzee (2/27) and struggled to score at a fine run rate. Sai Sudharsan (45 in 39 balls, with three fours and a six), skipper Shubman Gill (31 in 22 balls, with three fours and a six) and Rahul Tewatia (22 in 15 balls, with two fours and a six) chipped in with useful knocks to take GT to 168/6 in 20 overs.

Chasing 169, MI did lose Ishan Kishan (0) and Naman Dhir (20 in 10 balls, with a four and six) early, reduced to 30/2. However, a 77-run stand between Rohit Sharma (43 in 29 balls, seven fours and a six) and Dewald Brevis (46 in 38 balls, with two fours and three sixes brought back MI into the game. In death overs, pacers Spencer Johnson (2/25), Mohit Sharma (2/32) and Umesh Yadav (2/31) performed brilliantly, leaving MI six runs short. Hardik Pandya could score just 11 runs in four balls on MI return.

Sai Sudarshan got the 'Player of the Match' award.

Inputs from ANI