The flamboyant Indian all-rounder, Hardik Pandya concedes as they missed Jasprit Bumrah in the first T20I at Mohali on Tuesday, 20 September. The Indian bowling outfit once again failed to defend a total and this time the score was as big as 208 runs. The Indian bowlers leaked runs in the slog overs, resulting in a loss of four wickets with four balls to spare. Speaking at the press conference after the match, Pandya said that Bumrah is very important to India but the latter needs enough time to come back from the injury.

Hardik Pandya explained, “Jasprit not being there obviously makes a big difference. He is coming back after an injury, it is important for him to get enough time to kind of come back and maybe not put a lot of pressure on himself. We all know what he brings to the table and how important he is for us. There will be concerns here and there (about bowling) which is fine. We got to trust our boys. These are the best 15 in the country and that is why they are there in the squad.”

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The all-rounder was India’s best player on the day in Mohali as he amassed 71 runs off just 30 balls and he almost got the wicket of Cameron Green but Axar Patel dropped the catch. Hardik Pandya also praised his Australian counterpart Cameron Green for smashing61 off 30 balls and smashing the Indian bowling attack out of their rhythm as they failed to get the lines and lengths correct against the batter.

During the post-match press conference, Hardik Pandya said, “Good on him the way he played. We have seen a lot of videos but it is all about executing your plans. He played some good shots and credit where it is due.”

Asked about the conditions in the second innings, Hardik Pandya said that the conditions were favorable and it was the Indian bowling side that failed to execute their plans.

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The Indian all-rounder elaborated, “There was no dew. You have to give credit to them for the way they batted. They played good cricket. We could not execute our plans with the ball, with our deliveries. You can’t pinpoint why we lost the match. It is a game. It is a bilateral series. We have got two more matches and we will try to perform better.”