Hardik Pandya Criticized by Gavaskar on Live TV as Mumbai Indians Suffer 4th Defeat: ‘Ordinary Bowling and Captaincy

The Mumbai Indians suffered their fourth IPL 2024 setback, falling to the Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs on Sunday night. Sunil Gavaskar has praised Hardik Pandya for his mediocre bowling and leadership. Currently ranked eighth in the standings, MI’s chances of making the IPL playoffs are getting worse with each loss. The five-time champions have dropped two games in the Wankhede, and when they head to other locations for their next three, Hardik’s mission of walking through fire becomes much more difficult.

Hardik is facing criticism because of his performances. Although CSK scored more than 200 runs last night, the goal may have been lower if Hardik had stopped MS Dhoni from scoring heavily in the final over. Instead, Hardik handed up 2/43 from three overs, including a last over that saw Dhoni clutter him for a hat-trick of sixes to end the innings. His bowling appeared out of tune. And Gavaskar was a grump. Hardik came under fire from the former captain of India, who accused the all-rounder of having antiquated planning.

“This bowling is probably the worst I’ve seen in a very long time. It nearly appears as though my hero and I have shared an embrace. He’s going to hit sixes with some of the pitches I have. One-six will do. The next pitch is a length ball, indicating that the hitter is looking for a ball of that length to hit. During the innings break, Gavaskar said on Star Sports, “The third ball is again a full toss on the legs when you know he [Dhoni] is looking for a six.” “Oh, it’s just regular captaincy and bowling. Even though Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube had batted so well together, they ought to have been restricted. They ought to have been limited to 185–190, in my opinion.

The match signified the continuation of MS Dhoni’s enduring relationship with the legendary Wankhede Stadium. Dhoni’s cameo of 20 not out off four balls was the icing on the cake for the fans, 13 years after he hoisted the 50-over World Cup at this sacred ground. The first six was a monster hit between extra cover and long off, and the second was whacked in the direction of Cow Corner. The fans at Wankhede went crazy when Dhoni casually flicked the third six off his pads as their “god,” Sachin Tendulkar, watched from the dressing room.

Dhoni’s cameo trumps Rohit’s fighting century

After half-centuries from Gaikwad and Dube gave CSK momentum, Dhoni’s final over provided the ideal finishing touch. Following the decision to start Ajinkya Rahane at the top of the order instead of Rachin Ravindra, Gaikwad, who came in at number three, scored 69 runs off 40 balls with five fours and five sixes. Supporting him from the other end was the all-around player Dube, whose rise this season has been extraordinary. He hit 66 off 38 balls, his second fifty of the 2024 IPL, and finished with 2500 IPL runs. Together, they put up 90 runs to hold the MI bowlers off until they could make a move.

Also Read: MS Dhoni’s Heartwarming Gesture for Rohit Sharma Amid MI’s Defeat to CSK in IPL 2024

The victory of Dhoni and CSK overshadowed another memorable performance, which was contributed by Rohit Sharma, the former captain of MI, who scored an undefeated 105 off 63 balls. As MI paid the price for a collective batting collapse, Rohit, who had opened the innings, was without a strike in the middle overs. Tilak Varma’s 31 off 20 was the next-best score after Rohit’s hundred, while Tim David, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya could not complete the task. With the victory, CSK jumped to 8 points and made sure they would stay at 3 as they made steady progress toward the playoffs.