Shane Watson brutally criticised Hardik Pandya’s captaincy after MI’s defeat against KKR on Friday.
It was another defeat for Mumbai Indians on Friday as their losing streak extended to four matches at the Wankhede Stadium. Kolkata Knight Riders sealed a 24-run victory, with much of the blame falling on MI skipper Hardik Pandya. Throughout IPL 2024, the all-rounder’s captaincy skills have been questioned by fans and experts, with many feeling he isn’t suited to the role.
Mumbai Indians’ captain Hardik Pandya gestures during during a match.(AFP)
Hardik rejoined MI in a shock transfer ahead of the auction last year and replaced Rohit Sharma as skipper, in what can be explained as a transition move. He was released by MI in 2022 and joined Gujarat Titans. He was immediately made skipper and led GT to the title in their debut season, followed by a runners-up finish.
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But his captaincy stint with MI has been total chaos, and it was perfectly summed up on Friday. After winning the toss and opting to bowl, MI got a strong start, destroying KKR’s top order with ease. Nuwan Thushara got the wickets of Phil Salt (5), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (13) and Shreyas Iyer (6) and Hardik removed Sunil Narine (8).
But Venkatesh Iyer (70) and Manish Pandey (42) led a comeback as KKR ended up reaching 169 in 19.5 overs. Chasing 170, MI had a disastrous start, losing openers Ishan Kishan (13), Rohit Sharma (11) and no. 3 batter Naman Dhir (11) early. Suryakumar Yadav (56) led a late fightback but the India batter fell in the 16th over with MI reeling at 120/7.
Then Mitchell Starc struck thrice in five deliveries in the 19th over, as KKR bundled MI for 145 in 18.5 overs.
Speaking after the match, Shane Watson was left shocked by Hardik’s captaincy skills and tore the all-rounder to shreds in a brutal manner. Speaking on JioCinema, he said, “KKR had no right to win that game tonight after the position they were in five wickets down. It just shows the fight that they have and also just some of the things that happened. Some of the decisions that were made whether that was bowling changes or batting lineup deployment, some of those decisions were very baffling just to really give KKR the upper hand in a game that was just on a knife’s edge at certain times.”
Lauding KKR’s comeback spirit, Watson added, “Look that will give KKR so much confidence to know that they don’t have to be at their very best and be in a position where the game was nearly done and they’ve got the fight and determination to find their way to actually get on the right side of the result.”
MI are now ninth in the IPL 2024 points table and it is getting worse for Hardik, ahead of the T20 World Cup. His form is a huge cause of concern for Indian cricket fans, as he is expected to be in the playing XI for the ICC tournament.
