Hardik Pandya’s wife Natasa Stankovic© Instagram
It has been a tough start to the IPL 2024 for Mumbai Indians with two defeats in their first two matches. The franchise was already in the news before the start of the competition following Hardik Pandya‘s sensational trade move from Gujarat Titans and the decision to replace Rohit Sharma with the all-rounder as the captain. The move has not worked out for them till now with a narrow loss against Gujarat Titans to begin proceedings and a heavy defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad where they conceded 277 runs in 20 overs. Hardik has been facing a lot of criticism from both fans as well as experts and his wife Natasa Stankovic was targeted by trolls on social media.
Meanwhile, after his side’s 31-run loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Wednesday, Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya sought to lift his side’s confidence and said “toughest soldiers will get the toughest test” in the tournament.
In a video posted on MI’s social media handle, Hardik motivated his side after their second consecutive loss asked the squad to help each other in “worst or good” situations.
“Toughest soldiers get the toughest test; we are the toughest team in the competition, anyone who could have come close to where we reached as a batting group or just overall are us – let’s make sure we will help each other; worst or good, we will be together,” Hardik said.
Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar said that the match was very open, even though Mumbai conceded 277 runs. He added that Mumbai batted “well” in their inning.
“In the second half, in spite of scoring 277, 10 overs down the line, nobody knew who was a clear winner. The game was very much open. The target was very much achievable. That’s a clear-cut sign that we have batted really well. So, let’s stick together, tighter. There are going to be tougher moments, we will stick together as a group and pull it through,” Tendulkar said.
(With ANI inputs)
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