New Delhi : Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith said Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya looks like a man under pressure in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 after the five-time champions were defeated by Kolkata Knight Riders by 24 runs at the Wankhede Stadium. Had to face defeat. on Friday evening. This is their eighth defeat in 11 matches so far this season, leaving MI in ninth place and more importantly, their playoff chances are now very slim. “Hardik has really struggled; He looked like a man under pressure. This has created a bit of chaos in the air, who knows what effect it has had on people. But even the batting lineup, it seems like they are confused.”
“Tilak Verma and Naman Dheer were battling in the middle order, Dheer was batting at number three, and Hardik was roaming all over the place. They should have batted Tilak at number three, Sky at number four, Hardik at number five and David at number six throughout the season. ”Then, find your bowling units. All around, they have been a very confused team this season and it has been extremely disappointing from one of the mega franchises of the IPL. “A lot of people in the MI fanbase and camp will be very sad after this,” Smith told Geo Cinema.
Apart from the leadership role, Hardik has been performing poorly with both bat and ball in IPL 2024. With the bat, he has scored only 198 runs at an average of 19.8, while taking only eight wickets at an economy rate of 11. Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was surprised by some of the on-field decisions of the MI camp. “It was a big mistake on the part of the Mumbai Indians leadership to keep bowling Naman Dheer when the situation was so critical (KKR was at 57-5), whether it was Hardik Pandya taking the decisions or the information coming from the sidelines.” Bumrah had bowled only one over at that stage, so (he) needed to bring him back into the game to try to break the partnership of Venkatesh Iyer and Manish Pandey, but he just didn’t get them into the partnership. Allowed to move forward and increase speed.
“Before you know it, he had not played a shot in anger and the partnership had reached the point where by the time he came, it was too late. There were a number of shocking decisions from the Mumbai Indians leadership, which It’s hard to explain,” he said. Amidst all the disappointment for MI, Suryakumar Yadav emerged as the bright light with his 35-ball innings. “With Sky at the crease, you always believe that. There is a chance. He was above every other batsman in the MI lineup, no one looked comfortable at all with the conditions, the pressure or his game.
“Sky performed well with an excellent stroke game, normally hitting the ball into awkward areas. He played spin well, he played the seam well, front-end or back-foot. When he was there, the entire MI fan base thought they had a chance,” Smith concluded. Mumbai Indians will next face fourth-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
