When Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar expresses his opinion, there are not many people who dare go against his views.
As Mumbai Indians slumped to another defeat against the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday in Wankhede, their fourth out of 5 matches, Sunil Gavaskar’s reaction for Hardik Pandya came as - 'ordinary bowling and captaincy'.
In the last match of the ‘Rivalry Week’ in IPL 2024, Mumbai Indians locked horns with Chennai Super Kings with their home ground advantage at Wankhede. The match was bound to be high scoring with hitters on both sides in the line-up.
CSK, batting first, was looking good to post a target somewhere between 185-190. But things turned upside down as Dhoni walked in to bat with 4 balls to spare and Hardik Pandya bowling the last over of the innings.
Dhoni faced the first ball- Hardik Pandya bowled wide outside the off stump, Dhoni easily hit it to long off for a six.
Dhoni faced the second ball- Pandya bowled a full length delivery on middle-leg and Dhoni hit a powerful shot for another six.
Dhoni faced the third ball- Hardik bowled a low full-toss towards the leg side, Dhoni just steered it for a six towards the backward point boundary.
The fourth delivery got only two runs as it was in the deck.
Hardik Pandya gave away 24 runs in the last over taking CSK total to 206 in 20 overs.
Sunil Gavaskar on a TV show rated the captaincy and bowling of MI skipper Hardik Pandya as ‘ordinary’ and said that CSK should have been restricted to a score of 185-190.
"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 Dhoni is looking for a six," Gavaskar said.
Currently positioned 8th on the points table, each defeat further diminishes MI's prospects of making it to the IPL Playoffs. The five-time champions have suffered two losses at the Wankhede Stadium, and as they prepare to compete in different venues for their next three matches, the challenge intensifies, especially with Hardik Pandya facing a daunting test ahead.
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