IPL 2019 | Manish Pandey has been glorious since moving to number three, says VVS Laxman

Sunrisers Hyderabad succumbed to a narrow Super Over defeat against Mumbai Indians on Thursday night as they were outplayed by the brilliant batting display of Hardik Pandya and the bowling prowess of Jasprit Bumrah in the final over of the game. However, there were plenty of positives to take home for the visitors as they find themselves in a battle for the fourth and final play-off spot with Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals.

SRH mentor VVS Laxman singled out Manish Pandey for special praise as the latter has impressed with the bat ever since he was promoted up the batting order in the ongoing IPL season. The India batsman scored an unbeaten 71 off 47 balls as he hit a last-ball six to take the match to the Super Over as well

"It was a case of so near, yet so far for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Mumbai Indians on Thursday night. We did several things right against a formidable home team at the Wankhede Stadium, but fell just short and now have to win our final match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday to stay in the hunt.

"But we found our heroes in Manish Pandey and Mohammad Nabi. Manish has been in glorious touch since moving up to No. 3, and he continued to show maturity and responsibility without sacrificing natural flair. It's no mean achievement to take on Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga, two of the best death-overs specialists in the game, but neither he nor Nabi lost hope or their head. Nabi is fast emerging as a stellar all-round option for us, while Manish showed nerves of steel by slamming the final ball for six to ensure a tie," Laxman wrote in his column for TOI.

The former India Test cricketer admitted that his side put in a brilliant bowling display against Rohit Sharma & Co. but failed to score runs against the likes of Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya which ultimately came back to haunt them.

"We bowled exceptionally well to restrict the power-packed MI line-up to just over 160, backed up by wonderful fielding, and seemed on course after Wriddhiman Saha and Martin Guptill got us off to a rapid start. However, we lost our way against the MI spin pair of Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya. That we only managed 43 runs in eight overs of spin put us under tremendous pressure towards the back-end of the innings," Laxman added.