Mumbai Indians had it all under control against Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium before suffering a defeat in the final over of the game. Due to a rain-marred affair, the match paused after the 18th over. Mumbai were leading in the DRS race as Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult bowled in tandem and brought the Hardik Pandya-led side back into the contest, which once looked slipping from their hand.
The umpires set the cut-off time to 12:30 am for a one-over game and interestingly, the match started at that time. Gujarat were asked to chase 15 runs in the final over and it looked difficult for them, as Rahul Tewatia and Gerald Coetzee were on strike. Deepak Chahar was handed the ball even when Hardik had one over left. That proved costly as Chahar failed to defend the total. Gujarat managed to clinch a three-wicket victory (DLS method) and move to the top of the table.
After the game, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene reflected on the defeat, stating that Chahar bowled in the death in Bumrah’s absence and hence, the team backed him for the job against GT. He also reminded that had Hardik bowled the over and conceded three sixes, the story would have been the other way around.
“Deepak did that job for us when Booms [Jasprit Bumrah] was not there [for the first few games of the season]," Jayawardene said at the post-match press conference after MI's streak of wins ended at six. "He was good, our main bowler. It's easier for you to ask me that question and for me to say, 'yeah, maybe Hardik'. Had Hardik gone for three sixes, you might have asked me why you didn't bowl Deepak. I don't like to go to that,” Jayawardene said in the post-match press conference.
“It was not the decision; it was the execution. That's where we lost the game. My thinking is we lost the game when we had control of it and that was disappointing,” he added.