In Hardik we trust!

Hardik Pandya during his 33-ball 39 v DC at Wankhede recently. Pic/PTI

The Mumbai Indians began this IPL amidst a lot of negativity from their fans, who were upset with the team's change in captaincy, from five-time champion Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya. Their initial three back-to-back defeats thereafter only convinced one and all that this change in leadership was a huge mistake.

Raising the bar

However, Pandya's positive intent with the bat in their last two matches (a patient 34 v Rajasthan Royals and a hardworking 39 v Delhi Capitals) has helped turn things around. And their convincing win over DC (by 29 runs) at the Wankhede recently has only raised expectations as they take on an under-performing Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday.

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MI's Tim David at Wankhede yesterday. Pic/Atul Kamble

Seemingly, the fans as well as members of the MI camp, are warming up to Pandya's leadership. Big-hitter Tim David was all praise for his skipper's responsible approach. "Hardik has been playing a really important role for our team. We struggled hard for momentum towards the back end [of the innings] and Hardik played perfectly. He set the platform for myself and Romario [Shepherd] and we got on with it at the end [v DC]. We have full faith in him. We know his power, we know how good he is and when he gets into that situation, he's going to win games for us," David said at the match-eve press conference at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday on the back of an impressive batting session in the nets, where he was comfortably lofting almost everything that was being thrown at him.

Interestingly, just as the fans are transitioning from jeers to cheers for Pandya and MI, the team too are transitioning from frustration to confidence.

‘We challenged ourselves'

"After those three defeats, it was very frustrating because everyone feels like they're trying their best. But then we sat down as a team together and challenged ourselves. We said [to ourselves] ‘it's time, and we don't have any more chances here to keep playing below our best.' So it was pleasing to come out with that performance and get the win [against DC]. When you're losing, it feels so hard to win a game. But when you're winning, it becomes a lot easier. So, now it's about staying disciplined and not getting complacent. We've got that confidence having that first win under our belt, so we're going to cash in on a few more," added David.