Mumbai Indians Australiabased hitter Tim David He came out in defense of captain Hardik Pandya and the team management’s bowling strategy, which saw them concede 277 runs last night. It was a night to forget for MI’s players as all but Jasprit Bumrah had an economy rate of 10+. In his response to trying to chase the greatest of all time IPL In all, Mumbai were restricted to 246 and Sunrisers Hyderabad took victory by 31 runs.

There were many controversial decisions taken by captain Hardik Pandya but the one that was the root cause behind SRH’s surge was not allowing Jasprit Bumrah to play in the powerplay. After the early exit of Mayank Agarwal, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma caused a massacre in the middle of the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. The duo defeated MI’s bowling line-up and had almost all the answers to the questions asked.

And in that situation, Jasprit Bumrah, who should have bowled at least 2-3 overs in the first 10 overs, was given only one by Pandya. That changed the entire course of the game as other players like Coetzee, Maphaka, Piyush Chawla, Pandya and Shams Mulani conceded more than 10 runs in every over. But all that, according to Tim David, was part of the plan.

Tim David says Jasprit Bumrah could bowl with new ball in upcoming matches

While speaking at the press conference after MI failed to record their first win of the season, Tim David defended MI’s decision to have Hardik Pandya bowl the new ball. David, who scored 42 off 22 last night, claimed that it was a premeditated plan and that Jasprit Bumrah is someone who can make an impact for MI at every stage of the match.

Tim David then claimed that in the upcoming matches, people will see Jasprit Bumrah bowl the first over, but he doesn’t know when that will happen. David concluded by saying that he doesn’t make any decisions and that it is difficult for him to comment on the topic.

“Obviously there is planning around who throws first. I think wherever Booms (Bumrah) plays, he will have a big impact for us. So there is a lot of faith in where he wants to bowl. And I think we’ve seen that throughout both games. I may take the new ball in stages, but again, I’m not going to make that decision, so it’s difficult for me to comment.” – said Tim David at last night’s press conference at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

Mumbai Indians to welcome Rajasthan Royals next

Meanwhile, after failing to record their first win in the first two matches, Mumbai Indians will look to take home advantage when they host Rajasthan Royals next. Of the 8 matches so far, the host team has won all of them, regardless of how dangerous the opponent has been.

The trend started when CSK beat RCB in the opening match, then Punjab, Kolkata, Rajasthan, Bengaluru, Gujarat and Hyderabad continued the trend.