Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians failed to win their first match of Indian Premier League 2024 against Gujarat Titans. After coming back as the MI captain, Hardik Pandya failed to inspire his team to a win, failing both with bat and ball, and possibly as a captain as well. Hardik Pandya was criticized for starting with the ball instead of Jasprit Bumrah and then coming in too late in MI’s chase of 169 runs on Sunday, 24 March in Ahmedabad. The slump continued as Hardik Pandya’s MI lost their second match versus SunRisers Hyderabad.
Hardik Pandya ,the MI captain has not had a smooth start to his captaincy on his comeback to the franchise that made him a household name in the Indian cricketing scene. Hardik Pandya was asked about a ‘captaincy clause’ in his contract ahead of the season, a question that he ignored. Hardik Pandya too was criticized by fans on social media as well for the treatment of Rohit Sharma during the match.
Mumbai Indians poor performance under Hardik Pandya continues at home
The Mumbai Indians were expected to put up an impressive performance in what was their first match in front of home support at the Wankhede stadium. However, they turned up with a contrasting performance that didn’t suit their fearless style of play. While the entire team had a shambolic outing, it was captain Hardik Pandya who is being trolled and criticized on social media once again.
It was Hardik Pandya who had won the toss and elected to bat first but it was the top-order of the team that displayed the worst batting performance by a team in IPL 2024 as of now. Opening batsman and former captain Rohit Sharma, who should have led from the front, got out for a golden duck, while number 3 and 4 Naman Dhir and Dewald Brevis, too, had the very same fate. All of them had fell prey to Rajasthan’s Kiwi left-arm seamer Trent Boult.
Former India cricketers and Mumbai Indians teammates Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu are finding it hard to believe what is transpiring in the MI dugout. The duo of former cricketers, who are currently on Hindi commentary duty with Star Sports’, lashed out at players of Mumbai for the way they are treating skipper Hardik Pandya. Their comments came after seeing the outfit suffer their 3rd consecutive defeat of the season against Rajasthan Royals last night.
Harbhajan Singh questions MI players’ will to not accept Hardik Pandya as their captain
Following the first 3 dismissals, Ishan Kishan joined the dressing room for 16 runs and MI were reduced to 4 wickets for 20 runs only. The skipper Hardik Pandya made a 56-run partnership with Tilak Varma before giving his wicket to RR leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for 34 off 21.
Then Piyush Chawla got out for 3, Varma departed after a hard-fought 32 with Gerald Coetzee getting out for and Tim David, the 9th wicket of MI fell for 17 off 24 in the 3rd ball of the 18th over. With that MI were all out for 125 and in response, Rajasthan Royals chased down the total within the 16th over by 6 wickets.
Following the conclusion of the match, Hardik Pandya, who was obviously in a state of distraught, was seen sitting all alone in the MI dugout. He did not find anyone by his side, be it any young or senior player or anyone from the coaching staff. That depicts the kind of tension there is within the MI dressing room which Harbhajan Singh thinks is unfair.
“The visuals are not looking good. He has been left alone. The players of the franchise should accept him as their captain. The decision has been made and the team should stick together. The situation is not looking good.” – Bhajji said via Star Sports.
The Royals chased down the target of 126 runs quite comfortably, winning the contest by six wickets with 27 balls to spare. This defeat at home was the Mumbai Indians’ third in their opening three games of the 2024 IPL. The five-time IPL winners lost their previous two fixtures against the Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad and will hope that Hardik Pandya after a short break returns with a united MI back to winning ways.