Former Australia captain Steve Smith criticized Hardik Pandya for his captaincy calls during SunRisers Hyderabad’s 31-run win over Mumbai Indians. Smith said he was perplexed to see MI pacer Jasprit Bumrah not being properly by Pandya at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Bumrah had only bowled one over up till the 13th over, which prompted Smith to make this comment. SRH went on to post the highest-ever total in the history of the IPL, amassing 277 runs in the first innings.
Speaking to Star Sports after SRH’s win, Smith said he would’ve bowled Bumrah out by the 15th or 16th over to adapt to the match conditions. Bumrah was brought back into the attack by Pandya in the 13th over, but by then, the visitors had already conceded 173 runs. Bumrah ended with no wickets while giving away 36 runs in his four overs and was MI’s most economical bowler on the night.
SRH vs MI: Scorecard | Highlights
Missed a trick in bringing Bumrah in 13th over: Smith
“I think they missed a trick in bringing Bumrah back in the 13th over. When the ball’s going around like that, you’ve just got to bring your best bowler back earlier than you would’ve liked. It’s just about adapting on the go. I would’ve bowled Bumrah out by the 15-16th over to try to get some wickets,” said Smith.
He went on to say that he was perplexed to see Bumrah only bowling one over until the 13th, insisting that he could’ve provided Mumbai with wickets in the middle overs. Pandya opted to use 18-year-old debutant Kwena Maphaka in the first 10 overs. But the gamble didn’t pay off as the South Africa pacer conceded 48 runs in his first 3 overs and 66 in his four-over spell, making it the most-expensive by a Mumbai bowler in the IPL.
“Once you get some wickets, you slow the run-rate down anyway. If these guys are batting at the end, it doesn’t matter who is bowling. We saw that in the last two overs where he still got smacked. So if he came back earlier and took some risks, things could have been really different. They got 277, they could’ve been down to 250 and they might’ve chased those down. I was just perplexed that Bumrah had bowled just 1 over up until the 13th over,” Smith added.
Following their defeat in Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians will turn their attention towards Rajasthan Royals, with the two sides set to lock horns at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, April 1. Meanwhile, SRH will take on last year’s finalists Gujarat Titans in their next game in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 31.
