Sunday marked the beginning of Hardik Pandya's second stint as a Mumbai Indians player, but the all-rounder failed to lead his side to victory in their IPL 2024 opener in Ahmedabad. Chasing 169, MI needed 19 runs in the final over against Gujarat Titans and in came veteran India pacer Umesh Yadav, with tons of experience.

At the striker's end, much to GT's dismay, stood Pandya, known worldwide for his finishing skills in a run-chase and it looked like the MI skipper would have his way. For the first ball, Umesh sent a short delivery outside off and Pandya hammered it for a six over extra cover, followed by a four through extra cover. This would have been enough to break any bowler's confidence, especially when you are facing a power-hitter like Pandya.

Defending nine off four balls, Umesh had other plans. In the third ball of the over, Umesh set a short delivery with pace. Pandya didn't connect well, and toe-ended it to Rahul Tewatia at long-on for a simple catch and GT were back in the game again. In his next ball, Umesh removed new batter Piyush Chawla for a golden duck and the equation went to nine needed from two balls, with the pacer also on a hat-trick.

Jasprit Bumrah directed the hat-trick delivery to the off-side for a single, and the game was won by MI. In the final delivery, Umesh conceded another single as MI could only reach 162/9.

This was also Shubman Gill's first match as GT captain, having replaced Hardik. Meanwhile, the all-rounder replaced Rohit Sharma as MI skipper. Speaking after the match, Umesh revealed that it was a last-minute decision for him to bowl the final and credited GT coach Ashish Nehra and Gill.

"Actually, I was standing silently when Ashu pa said ‘You bowl the last over’. When I gave away two boundaries, Shubman came to me and said, ‘Don’t worry, you are doing well’. When the captain and support staff show belief in you, tough matches also seem easy and that works for me," he said.

Initially, a good knock by Sai Sudharsan (45) took GT to 168/5 in 20 overs. Meanwhile, Bumrah took two wickets for MI. Chasing 169, MI crumbled at 162/9 in 20 overs, despite a knock of 46 off 38 balls by Dewald Brevis. For GT's bowling department, Spencer Johnson, Azmatullah Omarzai and Umesh Yadav took two wickets each.

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