Life hasn’t been as smooth for Hardik Pandya since his homecoming to Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2024.
Life hasn’t been as smooth for Hardik Pandya since his homecoming to Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2024. The all-rounder has failed to deliver for his team in the first two matches with both bat and ball, and his team has lost both rubbers from the positions they should have won.
Hardik’s decisions haven’t suited the team so far, for he has taken some baffling calls on the field and in the dugout. Further, MI fans on social media platforms and a few experts have left no stone unturned to criticise him before, during and after the game.
He has had opportunities in both encounters to bail his team out and shut the noise, but Hardik left his side in troubled waters midway instead. His knock in a high-scoring clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) was questionable and match-losing, as Hardik took 20 balls for his 24 runs, striking at a mere 120 when his team required more than 15 per over.
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He wasted plenty of balls, piling pressure on his batting partner and the batters to follow. Eventually, MI went down by 31 runs, and had Hardik gone harder, the result could have been different, or the margin of defeat would have been lesser, which would have bettered the team’s net run rate.
Hardik Pandya has received a lot of flak from experts around the globe, and he worsened his case with his negative knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to express his disappointment with the MI captain for his scratchy innings.
“If the whole team is playing with the strike of 200, Captain can’t bat with the batting strike rate of 120.” posted Irfan.
If the whole team is playing with the strike of 200, Captain can’t bat with the batting strike rate of 120.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 27, 2024
SRH pacers agitated Pandya with off-pace, shorter-length deliveries throughout his stay, to which the batter had no answer. He eventually perished while trying to heave a cutter into the pitch by Jaydev Unadkat on the final delivery of the 18th over.
While all other Mumbai Indians’ batters scored at a strike rate of above 185, Hardik accumulated 24 runs at 120. His rough knock sucked impetus of the innings, leading to MI’s second consecutive defeat of the season.
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