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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) emerged victorious over Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 29th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Opting to bowl first, MI faced a formidable challenge from the power hitters of CSK. The match saw CSK amass a total of 206 runs in 20 overs, with standout performances from Ruturaj Gaikwad (69 off 40) and Shivam Dube (66 off 38). The innings concluded with style as MS Dhoni smashed 20 runs in just 4 balls. This set the stage for an intense chase by MI.
MI began their innings strongly but faltered against CSK’s bowling attack. Despite a stellar century by their former skipper Rohit Sharma (105 of 63), MI ultimately lost the match, rendering Rohit’s ton futile.
Mumbai’s players struggled across all facets of the game, with particular scrutiny falling on Hardik Pandya’s performance. Pandya bore the brunt of criticism after conceding 43 runs in three overs against CSK. His last over of the innings was particularly disappointing, yielding 26 runs, which included three consecutive sixes by Dhoni. Pandya’s struggles extended to his batting, as he was dismissed after scoring just 2 runs off six balls.
Sunil Gavaskar blasts at Hardik Pandya for his sluggish innings and ordinary bowling
While talking to Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar, criticized MI’s new skipper, Pandya, for underperforming both with the ball and the bat. The former India captain called Pandya’s bowling the worst and his captaincy ordinary.
“Probably the worst kind of bowling that I’ve seen for a long, long time. It almost looks like I’ve had this embrace with my hero. I’ve got the kind of deliveries that he’s gonna hit for sixes. One six is fine. The next one is a length ball when you know this batter is hunting for a length ball that he wants to hit. Third ball is again a full toss on the legs when you know he [Dhoni] is looking for a six,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
“Oh, absolutely ordinary bowling, ordinary captaincy. They should have been restricted despite the fact that Ruturaj Gaikwad had batted so well along with Shivam Dube. I do believe that they should have been restricted to 185-190”, the 74-year-old added.
"It's affecting him, it's affecting his cricket and something needs to happen" – #KevinPietersen on Hardik's last over vs @msdhoni and the ups and downs of his captaincy!
📹 | Watch the legends of the game, #SunilGavaskar and @KP24 talk more about @hardikpandya7's leadership!… pic.twitter.com/QxCKE6KXf8
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 14, 2024
Also READ: WATCH: Mustafizur Rahman pulls off an unbelievable juggling catch to send Surya Kumar Yadav packing | IPL 2024
Serious trouble for MI
The loss of MI at Wankhede on Sunday was their fourth loss of this season’s IPL. Currently, MI are placed in the 8th position on the points table, with 4 points in their bag. As the first half of the IPL is almost over, it has become very important for the five-time champion to work on their flaws if they want to qualify for playoffs.
