"Toughest soldiers get toughest test": Hardik Pandya after 31-run loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], March 28 : 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, inspite 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.
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Recapping the match, Sunrisers Hyderabad was put to bat first by Mumbai Indians. Fiery knocks came from Travis Head (62 in 24 balls, with nine fours and three sixes), and Abhishek Sharma (63 in 23 balls with three fours and seven sixes) that powered SRH to 148/2 in their 10 overs.
A brief 48-run stand between Abhishek and Aiden Markram (42* in 28 balls, with two fours and a six), Heinrich Klaasen (80* in 34 balls, with four boundaries and seven sixes) formed a 116-run stand in 54 balls to take SRH to 277/3 in their 20 overs, the highest-ever IPL total.
Chasing 278, openers Rohit Sharma (26 in 12 balls, with four and three sixes) and Ishan Kishan (34 in 13 balls, with two fours and three sixes) gave MI a fine start, racing to 56 in 3.2 overs.
After both openers were dismissed, Naman Dhir (30 in 14 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Tilak Varma (64 in 34 balls, with two fours and six sixes) formed an 84-run stand, taking MI to 150 in 10.4.
In the death overs, Tim David (42* in 22 balls, with two fours and three sixes) battled it out for MI along with Pandya and Romario Shepherd (15* in six balls, with two fours and a six). But MI had been controlled well by SRH bowlers and restricted to a commendable 246/5 in 20 overs, losing by 31 runs.