AHMEDABAD: Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Pollard defended the decision to bat captain Hardik Pandya 11 (4b; 1×4, 1×6) at No. 7 and said it was a collective move taken by the team management. MI finished at 162/9, falling short by six runs in their IPL opener against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
“No decision is made on full autonomy, so we can’t say it is his decision.As a team, we have plans. We talk about setting entry points for batters. The top order batted deep into the game, and we also had two power hitters to go in the back end. Usually, if you look at it over time, Tim (David) has finished games for us, and Hardik has done it over the years.
“So, at any point, any one of them can resurrect the situation. It didn’t happen tonight, so there will likely be a chat about who should have gone earlier. But all those things are in hindsight, and as a team, we make decisions, so let’s put a stop to.
“Hardik made a decision, Hardik did this, Hardik did that’. We are a team. We make decisions collectively as one,” he said.
When asked if one among the top three batters should have batted throughout the innings to avoid a collapse like the one suffered on Sunday, the former West Indian all-rounder said, “Obviously, in an ideal world, that’s what you want (to win). But when you are playing real cricket against professionals, they will have their plans. In the last quarter while we were batting, we let it slip and ended on the losing side. So, a couple of things to look at. The tournament is long, and the guys are coming in and understanding what is needed at this level. We will get it right.”
Pollard also defended Pandya opening the bowling. “Hardik has also bowled with the new ball for Gujarat over the last couple of years. He swung the new ball and bowled it well,” said Pollard.
“No decision is made on full autonomy, so we can’t say it is his decision.As a team, we have plans. We talk about setting entry points for batters. The top order batted deep into the game, and we also had two power hitters to go in the back end. Usually, if you look at it over time, Tim (David) has finished games for us, and Hardik has done it over the years.
“So, at any point, any one of them can resurrect the situation. It didn’t happen tonight, so there will likely be a chat about who should have gone earlier. But all those things are in hindsight, and as a team, we make decisions, so let’s put a stop to.
“Hardik made a decision, Hardik did this, Hardik did that’. We are a team. We make decisions collectively as one,” he said.
When asked if one among the top three batters should have batted throughout the innings to avoid a collapse like the one suffered on Sunday, the former West Indian all-rounder said, “Obviously, in an ideal world, that’s what you want (to win). But when you are playing real cricket against professionals, they will have their plans. In the last quarter while we were batting, we let it slip and ended on the losing side. So, a couple of things to look at. The tournament is long, and the guys are coming in and understanding what is needed at this level. We will get it right.”
Pollard also defended Pandya opening the bowling. “Hardik has also bowled with the new ball for Gujarat over the last couple of years. He swung the new ball and bowled it well,” said Pollard.
