Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya was once again under the scanner for his on-field decisions during the Indian Premier League match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. It was a run-fest at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, as the hosts posted a record-breaking 277/3 – the highest total in IPL history – on the scoreboard after that Hardik asked them to strike first.
SRH Batsmen Heinrich Klaasen (80*), Abhishek Sharma (63) and Travis head (62) unleashed carnage against the Mumbai Indians bowlers who looked helpless on a flat batting platter.
In the meantime, Hardik used again Jasprit Bumrah as the first bowling change in the powerplay. A decision which attracted criticism from various quarters, as Head was already well established in the middle by that point.
He also became a bit defensive as the SRH batters were crushing the MI bowlers all around the park.
Irfan Pathan, Tom Moody criticize Hardik Pandya’s captaincy against SRH
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan took to X and criticized Pandya’s ordinary captaincy and keeping Bumrah out of attack when things were not going in MI’s favor.
“Hardik Pandya’s captaincy has been ordinary to say the least. Keeping Bumrah aside for too long while the carnage unfolded was beyond my comprehension,” Pathan wrote.
Bumrah, who took three wickets for 14 runs against Gujarat Titans, couldn’t take a wicket against SRH, but with 36 runs in 4 overs, he was MI’s most economical bowler and the only one who managed less than 10 points per over.
Former SRH head coach Tom Moody also criticized Pandya’s decision to keep Bumrah out of the attack.
“Where is Jasprit Bumrah?? The game is almost over and your best bowler has only bowled ONE! #SRHvMI,” Moody wrote.
Pandya’s return to MI did not go as planned for him as they lost their second consecutive match in the IPL. The Orange Army manhandled the visitors’ bowling attack and posted a mammoth 277/3 – the highest score in IPL history.
Chasing the target, Mumbai’s batters scored and made a game in what looked like one-way traffic at the innings break. Openers Ishan Kishan (34) and Rohit Sharma (24) set the platform with a quick start in the powerplay.
Tilak Varma finished as the top run scorer for the blue team as he scored 64 runs off 34 balls while Tim David also fought hard in the hand with his unbeaten knock of 42 runs but in the end Mumbai came up short by 31 points.