IPL 2024: "Hardik has been vital to our team....": MI's Tim David ahead of RCB clash

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 10 : Ahead of his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Tim David said that skipper Hardik Pandya is vital to their team and credited the star all-rounder for setting a platform with his 33-ball 39 in the previous match against Delhi Capitals (DC) for a fine finish by David and Romario Shepherd and expressed team's faith in Indian star's abilities.
RCB and MI will be locking horns in a high-octane clash at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, which will be a battle between two of Indian cricket's biggest superstars, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both teams are searching for wins. While MI opened their account after three losses with a win over Delhi Capitals (DC), RCB aims to overcome a three-match losing streak, succumbing to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their last encounter.
Ahead of the match, David spoke in the post-match press conference that, "Hardik has been vital to our team. In the last match, we struggled hard for momentum towards the back end, and he (Hardik) played perfectly, which set the platform for Romario and me to go on with at the end. Hardik has been phenomenal for the team, which we need at some point."
"Sometimes it is me, and sometimes it is other guys. You could look at the first game, where Hardik hit two boundaries in his first two balls. So, we have complete faith in him. We know his power and how good he is, and when he gets into that situation, he will win games for us," he added.
Tim said that Romario is in the side to finish the games on a high note. In the previous match, he scored 39* in 10 balls, including 32 in the final over by Anrich Nortje.
"This is why he (Romario) is here (to finish games); that is what he is on our team to do. At the stage, obviously, I would faced a few more balls, so I was at the start of the over and thinking I could get on strike and do some damage in the back end, and Romario hit the first ball for four. He said to me, ' Do you want the single? ' I said, 'Mate, you just hit a boundary, so go on'."
"I probably did not think he was going to get 32, but it was pretty exciting watching," he added.
In the last match, MI managed to defend the target of 235 runs and DC fell 29 runs short.
David said that Wankhede is a tough venue to defend targets at during the death overs.
"Of course, bowlers will be under pressure. That is the nature of playing at Wankhede, playing for Mumbai," he said.
"We have got Booms (Jasprit Bumrah), world-class at the top, and the other guys have been doing their jobs well," added the batter.
David said that the process within the team are the same and they are not getting any complacent.
"To be honest, we are most focused on ourselves. We did not play our best cricket in the first three matches, and as we gain momentum, this team can go on a real winning run. We're looking forward to that happening, and it will be great to be a part of it," he said.
"We have the squad to push through the finals and will be up there at the end. After three defeats, it is frustrating because everyone feels like they are trying their best. We sat down as a team and told ourselves it was time to challenge ourselves. We do not have any more chances here to keep playing below our best, so it was pleasing that we could come out with that performance and get the win. It is essential to start from here."
"And when you are losing, it feels so hard to win a game. When you are winning, it becomes a lot easier. So it is about staying disciplined, not getting complacent. We are doing our prep. The process is the same. Having that first win under our belt, we have some confidence, so we'll cash in with a few more," he concluded his point.
On facing his former schoolmate Cameron Green, now with RCB, David said, "I went to the same school as Cam, so it is obviously about bragging rights. You are playing against your mates, but they are the opposition. Yes, we played together a year ago. But people change their games and learn different skills, so you cannot bank on that knowledge. It is all about playing the game out of the middle," he said.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik(w), Saurav Chauhan, Reece Topley, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, Himanshu Sharma, Suyash Prabhudessai, Mahipal Lomror, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Swapnil Singh, Karn Sharma, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, Will Jacks, Anuj Rawat, Manoj Bhandage, Akash Deep, Rajan Kumar
Mumbai Indians Squad: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Mohammad Nabi, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Maphaka, Naman Dhir, Nehal Wadhera, Shams Mulani, Shreyas Gopal, Luke Wood, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Kumar Kartikeya, Shivalik Sharma, Anshul Kamboj, Nuwan Thushara, Dewald Brevis.