Hardik Pandya had a resigned smile on his smile. Not for the first time in IPL 2024. Mumbai Indians had just lost another match this season without much of a contest, again… not for the first time in the last couple of months. Hardik Pandya‘s return to the MI and that too as their captain, replacing the five-time IPL-winning captain Rohit Sharma, has been anything but ideal.
After a dream start to his captaincy career by winning the title with Gujarat Titans in 2022 and leading them to the finals next year, Hardik Pandya’s returned to MI, the franchise which unearthed him almost a decade ago. The move, however, was looked at from a prism of doubt right from the onset.
Notably, the MI management had decided to remove Rohit Sharma as captain ahead of the IPL 2024 season, handing over the responsibility to Hardik Pandya, who was brought in from Gujarat Titans. The new captain faced opposition from the loyal MI fanbase in the early matches of the season, with Hardik Pandya regularly being booed at the Wankhede Stadium and other grounds across the country.
Hardik Pandya’s disastrous return to MI team
Just when reports of GT being unhappy with Hardik Pandya cutting ties despite their repeated requests were doing the rounds, MI dropped the bomb of naming him as their new captain. The backlash was severe. The online trolling spilt on the field as Hardik was booed and hacked wherever MI played in the first half of the season. The India all-rounder was not spared even by the Wankhede crowd.
The situation worsened with Hardik Pandya’s dry run with the bat – he ended the season with 218 runs in 14 matches at an average of 18 and a strike rate of 145. With the ball too, he wasn’t as good. He picked up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 10.75. His leadership was questioned. His on-field decisions were dissected like never before. MI were caught in a downward spiral from which they never recovered.
LSG hand 18 run thrashing to MI in last league stage match
In the final league match for both teams, LSG inflicted a convincing 18-run defeat upon the Mumbai Indians on Friday. Nicholas Pooran was the pick of the LSG batsmen as his 75-run knock helped the Lucknow-based franchise post 214/6 in their 20 overs. In reply, MI failed to chase down the total despite some fine knocks from Rohit Sharma and Naman Dhir.
Hardik Pandya conceded that the whole tournament went wrong for his side, which was why they would not think much about the defeat.
I think the whole season went wrong- Hardik Pandya
Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya felt it was too early to point out what went wrong for his team in the IPL 2024 match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He conceded that the whole tournament went wrong for his side, which was why they would not think much about the defeat.
Playing their last league match of the season, MI suffered an 18-run defeat at the hands of LSG. Half-centuries from KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran inspired LSG to 214/6 in the first innings. In response, MI finished with 196/6, with half-centuries from Rohit Sharma and Naman Dhir ending in a losing cause.
When asked if the team’s poor death bowling led to a defeat against LSG, MI captain Hardik Pandya told host broadcasters:
“Too early to be exactly pointing out what went wrong. I think the whole season went wrong, so it’s okay we can pass on this game as well and look forward to the next season.”
MI started well with the ball and restricted LSG to 69/3 until the 10th over. However, in the next 10 overs, the home side leaked 145 runs. The absence of Jasprit Bumrah hurt MI in this match.
Sometimes there will be good days, sometimes there will be bad days- Hardik Pandya comments on MI’s disastrous IPL 2024
MI finished 10th in the standings with only eight points from 14 league matches. When asked about his comments on the team’s performance and the vibe in the dressing room, skipper Hardik Pandya said:
“I mean, quite difficult. This season, we did not play good quality cricket. So, eventually, it costed us the whole season,”
“It’s a professional world. Sometimes there will be good days, sometimes there will be bad days. But as professional cricketers, we always need to come out and put our best step forward so I don’t think that was much of a problem,” he added.
A mega auction will happen before IPL 2025. It will be interesting to see if MI builds a fresh squad around skipper Hardik Pandya. MI though will look to introspect within their loopholes and come back stronger in the mega auction and IPL next year.