Hardik Pandya led his Mumbai Indians team against Kolkata Knight Riders. He faced criticism for his poor batting display. The game happened on May 3rd. Pandya captains the Mumbai side.
Hardik Pandya scored just one run from three balls at an important time when Suryakumar Yadav needed a capable partner to chase the target of 170 runs.
It all happened in the 12th over, when Andre Russell’s good-length ball clipped Pandya’s leading edge and was holed out by Manish Pandey.
Russell is flexing his muscles with the ball this time ????#TATAIPL #MIvKKR #IPLonJioCinema pic.twitter.com/J1LHSmtgJi
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 3, 2024
Watch the crowd respond to Pandya’s batting performance on X:
This fan pointed out Pandya’s move to the Mumbai Indians after successfully guiding the Gujarat Titans to consecutive final appearances (title in 2022).
“Hardik pandya taught me One decision can ruin your life, if life already going well just go with the flow, don’t try to outsmart everything,” one fan noted.
Many supporters were unhappy when the BCCI picked Pandya as the vice-captain for the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2024.
“Seriously, @BCCI just selecting players seeing their previous record and not current performance. Hardik Pandya haven’t been good at anything bating bowling or captaincy and BCCI not only select but also made him VC, one fan commented.
“Hardik Pandya is his current form does not deserve to represent India. 11 matches 198 runs with the bat. Bowled irregularly throughout the tournament with an economy of 11. Questionable with his captaincy. Horrible body language and has failed with squad management as well. I really hope he finds his form before the World Cup in the coming matches,” this fan posted.
MI vs KKR: Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians Suffer Another Disappointing Loss
The Mumbai-based franchise invited the Kolkata Knight Riders to bat first. Although KKR were struggling at 57/5, they received good assistance from Venkatesh Iyer (70) and Manish Pandey (42), allowing them to total 169. Jasprit Bumrah and Nuwan Thushara each took three wickets, while Hardik Pandya had two for MI.
In response, MI did not get off to a strong start, as its key hitters were unable to produce a significant start for the club. Despite Suryakumar Yadav’s outstanding performance of 56 and Tim David’s 24 off 20, the home team was swept out for 145 and lost by 24 runs.
MI is presently in penultimate place, with only three victories in 11 league matches, and is out of the running to qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs. Meanwhile, KKR has seven victories in ten league matches and is very certain to make the semi-finals.