Hardik Pandya has revealed that Yash Dayal fell ill after the match against Kolkata Knight Riders and lost 7-8 kgs. The left-arm pacer hasn’t played a fixture since the KKR tie. Dayal was hit for five back-to-back sixes by Rinku Singh.
Speaking after the game against Mumbai Indians (MI), Pandya revealed the reason behind Dayal’s absence and said: “He fell ill and lost 7-8 kg after that match. There was a spread of viral infection during that period and also, due to the pressure he had faced, his condition is presently not good enough to take the field. Someone’s loss is someone’s gain at the end of the day. It is going to take some time before we see him on the field.”
While it was mathematically possible to scale the chase, no one gave KKR a chance. Rinku Singh pulled off the heist and hit Dayal for five back-to-back sixes to steer KKR to an impossible win. The bowler was left heartbroken after being hit for back-to-back sixes while Rinku was on cloud nine after his heroics.
GT brought in senior pacer Mohit Sharma in the absence of Dayal. Mohit has rediscovered himself in the season and has scalped 6 wickets in 4 matches. He has bowled at an economy rate of 6.15. Mohit’s presence has been a boon for the defending champions and he looks set to retain his spot in the coming games.
With 5 wins from 7 matches, GT sit at the 2nd spot in the points table and are a solid contender to qualify for the playoffs.
