It was a tough defeat to swallow, but let’s move on with some positives and some insights to work on for our upcoming game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday (March 27).

In hindsight, the GT vs MI game got the Paltan at the Narendra Modi Stadium on the edge of their seats - be it Jasprit Bumrah’s three-wicket haul or Gerald Coetzee’s two-wicket act with the ball or the forty-plus runs blitz from Hitman and Dewald Brevis and the late (almost) rescue act from skipper Hardik Pandya.

Despite the result, Batting Coach Kieron Pollard, who spoke to the media after the match, had a positive outlook despite the defeat.

“Obviously, in the ideal world, that's what you want (to win). But when you are playing real cricket against professionals, they will have their plans. For about six overs of that game where you are in control and within the last quarter when 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 said.

Mumbai Indians won the toss and opted to bowl first. Surprisingly, captain Hardik opened the bowling against his former side, Gujarat. What was the management thinking? Well, there was a simple answer—purely based on bowling strengths.

“You have to plan and decide what you want to do as a team. Hardik (Pandya) has also bowled with the new ball for Gujarat over the last couple of years. He swung the new ball and bowled it well, which was nothing new to us. We tried to use the advantage of the new ball swinging along. When I look at the decision made, there is nothing wrong with it, and we move on,” he added.

Another question about the team's decision-making about Hardik batting at number seven, and the logic behind him making that decision.

“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 of 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 added.

Four players, including Punjab all-rounder Naman Dhir, made their Mumbai Indians debut in MI’s opening fixture of IPL 2024. The Llord was impressed with his performance, but as a coach, he had vital advice for onlookers who were taken aback by his talent.

“ Firstly, kudos go to the scouts and all the guys who work behind the scenes and continue to unearth all of these talents. He was on the radar. For us, he has been within our setup for the last couple of months, going to England and developing. So it was something that we'd seen in that guy, and he came out and was very expressive.

“Again, with the lofted shot, we are excited about these things, but I thought he had much more to offer. His calmness, even when we lost that first wicket, and continuing with that intent is a good start for him. But again, this is merely the start of something. At the end of it, he scored 20-odd (runs). Let's give him that space; let him enjoy the moment. It was a big occasion for all these guys, but as a franchise, we continue to unearth new talent so we can continue as we go along.”

Ishan Kishan, who fell in the first over, too had Polly’s full backing. There was no doubt in our Batting Coach’s head about our pocket dynamo, and he showed every bit of backing for him.

“He's an experienced guy within our setup. And we expect big things from Ishan. He's in a good space, has been practising well, and has been fairly decently, so hopefully, within the next couple of games, we can see an outstanding performance from him, and then all of you guys will continue to laud his praise when he does that.”

Right, Paltan, let’s get the calendar to Wednesday quickly, please. This one hurts, but you know our trend of bouncing back just as hard when pushed back! Just two more sleeps..