Glenn Maxwell made us feel like we were 10 runs short: Hardik Pandya

GT skipper Hardik Pandya opened up on how Glenn Maxwell’s blitz made them feel like they were 10 runs short in their score as RCB won the clash by eight wickets. While Virat Kohli was a pure stunner for his side in the same clash, the finishing task couldn’t have been done better than how Maxwell unfolded it. After Kohli’s well-made 73 off 54, Maxwell displayed stellar class by smashing 40* off 18 balls.

It looked like Maxwell was quite hungry for runs as he started dealing mainly with boundaries when he walked on the field. The Australian smashed five fours and two sixes in his unbeaten knock while operating at a strike rate in excess of 220. Pandya added how his side felt it had a par score before the Australian all-rounder started smashing runs for fun.

“We had just a par score. The ball was stopping here and there and we were happy with 168. We wanted to give Lockie (Ferguson) the opportunity, but the wicket was holding a bit. So, we wanted to go for bowlers who bowled slower ones and took pace off the ball. We pulled things back in the middle but the way Maxwell played, in the end, made us feel we were 10 runs short,” said Hardik Pandya while speaking to Star Sports.

The learning is to make sure we don’t do it in the playoffs: Hardik Pandya

After bearing an eight-wicket loss against RCB, Hardik added that they are on the right track and all this learning will be useful for them while playing in the playoffs. It is to be noted that GT became the first team to qualify for IPL 2022 playoffs and has also made sure to finish in the top two with 20 points in their tally already. On the other hand, RCB’s fortunes will now depend on the result of the MI vs DC clash.

“We are on the right track and we just need to look after losing back-to-back wickets. The learning is to make sure we don’t do it in the playoffs. It is always good to score runs,” he added.