IPL 2021: “Anyone going out had to get runs as soon as possible” - Nathan Coulter-Nile on Hardik Pandya’s promotion

Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile has said that he didn’t know the exact thought progress behind Hardik Pandya’s promotion to No. 4 against Rajasthan Royals (RR). He, however, did admit that whoever went out to bat was expected to score quickly.

MI bulldozed RR by eight wickets in match number 51 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in Sharjah on Tuesday. After restricting RR to 90 for 9, MI gunned down the target in just 8.2 overs.

Following Suryakumar Yadav’s dismissal, MI sent Hardik Pandya into bat at number four. However, he didn’t have to do much and remained unbeaten on 5 off six balls as Ishan Kishan cruised to an unbeaten half-century off 25 balls.

At the post-match conference, Coulter-Nile was asked about the reason behind Hardik Pandya’s promotion. Responding to a Sportskeeda query in this regard, Coulter-Nile responded:

“Look, those decisions are made by the higher-ups. I just bowl cricket balls. Those decisions are made well above me. I think common sense would say that anyone who was going out to the middle had to get the runs as soon as possible and try and get that run rate up.”

Following their crushing win on Tuesday, MI moved to fifth position in the points table. They have 12 points from 13 games and a net run rate of -0.048.

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Once Quinny went out, Ishan Kishan was always going to open: Nathan Coulter-Nile

Nathan Coulter-Nile celebrates a wicket. Pic: IPLT20.COM

The MI medium pacer also revealed that Ishan Kishan would open once Quinton de Kock was left out of the playing XI.

Asked about the move to start the innings with Ishan Kishan, Coulter-Nile, who was named the Man of the Match for his spell of 4 for 14, explained:

“I think opening the innings is a good place for him. He likes to play his shots and, on a wicket like that, it was only going to get harder. So that’s why we saw our stroke-makers go up the order. He was slated to bat in the top order once Quinny (Quinton de Kock) went out.”

Coulter-Nile further added:

“I don’t know if there was ever going to be a case of him batting in the middle order. It was nice to see him score some runs, and he might have cemented his position.”

Kishan hammered five fours and three sixes in his innings, roaring back to form in style.