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The highly anticipated match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at Wankhede Stadium lived up to its billing, offering fans a thrilling contest. The El Classico of the league showcased several memorable moments, including MS Dhoni‘s hat-trick of sixes and Rohit Sharma‘s unbeaten century.
Kieron Pollard’s heated exchange with match official
In addition to the on-field action, there was another moment that drew attention when MI’s batting coach Kieron Pollard was involved in a heated exchange with a match official. Pollard, along with MI head coach Mark Boucher and all-rounder Tim David, was seen expressing his dissatisfaction near the MI dugout.
Controversial umpiring decision sparks debate
The exchange occurred after a controversial decision by the umpires in the 15th over of MI’s chase, bowled by Shardul Thakur. MI opted for a DRS review, believing the penultimate delivery was a wide as it was outside off and Hardik Pandya attempted a big swing but missed.
However, the third umpire ruled in favour of CSK, much to the frustration of Pollard and MI team members.
This led to an animated confrontation with the match official.
CSK beat MI in the ‘El Classico’ clash
Speaking about the match, CSK, after being asked to bat, posted a massive total of 206/4 in 20 overs, courtesy of twin fifties from Ruturaj Gaikwad (69 off 40) and Shivam Dube (66 no off 38). MS Dhoni with 4-ball 20 provided finishing touches.
In response, MI star Rohit Sharma smashed a tremendous hundred but couldn’t take his team over the finish line due to lack of support from other batters. Rohit played an unbeaten knock of 105 but MI lost the match by 20 runs.
Also READ: IPL 2024 – Rohit Sharma creates a unique sixes record despite MI’s loss against CSK
Hardik Pandya positive despite a defeat
Pandya commented on his team’s performance after the match, stating that they were doing well in the run chase until Matheesha Pathirana came on and took two crucial wickets. He acknowledged that they might have approached the situation differently, as he prefers to play calculated cricket. Pandya emphasized the importance of maintaining high intensity and good performance in their next four away games.
“We were going quite well (in the run chase) till Pathirana came into the attack and took those two wickets. It was about what is best at that time, we could have done something different. I like to play percentage cricket. We are on the road for the next four games, need to play good cricket, need to keep the intensity high,” said Pandya in the post-match presentation.
