Hardik Pandya, the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain, explained that the decision to retire Tilak Varma out during their previous match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) was a "tactical" move, though an injury also played a role.
Tilak, who was called back with MI needing 24 off seven against LSG, contributed 56 off 29 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Monday, his 89-run stand off just 34 balls with Hardik (42 off 15) setting the stage for a thrilling finish, before RCB fought back to seal the game.
"Tilak was fantastic," Hardik said at the post-match presentation. "Last game, a lot of things happened. People made [up] a lot of things about it, but people don't know he had a nasty hit the previous day [in the nets]. It was a tactical call, but because of the finger injury the coach felt someone fresh can do it. But he was fantastic today."
Hardik also explained the rationale behind moving Naman Dhir down the order. Dhir made 46 off 24 from No. 3 in their previous game to set the tone for the chase of 204. On Monday at Wankhede, he was pushed to No. 7. By the time he came into bat in the 18th over, MI needed 34 off 14.
"In the original skeleton of our team, Naman was always batting down the order. Last game Ro [Rohit Sharma] wasn't available [knee injury] and we had to push someone up. He has the multi-dimensional game where he can come up and play at death as well. But once Ro was back, we knew Naman had to come down."
Hardik didn't want to pin the blame for MI's third loss in four games on his bowlers, especially in conditions he felt were unforgiving. "I think the way the wicket was, the bowlers didn't have anywhere to hide," he said. "It came down to execution. If someone executed well, you couldn't stop the batters, but I don't want to be harsh on the bowlers, it was a tough track, they didn't have many options."
Hardik expressed delight at having Jasprit Bumrah back from a long injury layoff. Bumrah was MI's most economical bowler, conceding just 29 off his four overs, while every other bowler went at over 10 an over. "Very good, having him makes the team, any team really special," Hardik said. "He came and did his job. Having him is good, very happy."
Asked where this defeat put his team as far as the season goes, Hardik had a simple message: "In life, never back down. Always see the positive side of it. The message is clear: go out, play the best cricket of your life, back yourself. We are all backing them. The team knows that, hope for result to come our way."