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Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Hardik Pandya has had a poor Indian Premier League (IPL) season as a captain and as a player. On his return after recovering from back spasm, Pandya struggled to score quickly on a bowler-friendly Eden Gardens pitch. Then, he was about to get a breakthrough with Rovman Powell’s wicket when Deepak Chahar and Robin Minz made a mess of a regulation catch as the ball landed between them at deep square leg. In the same over, he was hit for two fours by Manish Pandey and the all-rounder ended up taking the bails off in frustration on his way back to the bowling mark. It led to a 10 per cent match fee fine and a demerit point. MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene understands Pandya’s frustration and urged fans and the media to not look too much into it.
"I mean, Hardik was also injured, but continuous defeats. And we saw in the last game that the catch that fell between Robin Minz and Deepak Chahar. I think he got too frustrated and broke the stumps in possession. I think in that situation, obviously, it is frustrating for any bowler or whatever. I mean, you can't read too much into it. But yes, the same frustration he had on the field,” Jayawardene said in the pre-match press conference at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Jayawardene believes it is not just Pandya but others too who are frustrated amid a poor season as things haven’t gone their way.
“But overall, I think it is hard not just for Hardik, but for all of us to go through a season where we know that we have the talent, we have the squad, but we were not able to execute and perform to the best of our ability," Jayawardene added.
MI can decide 4th playoffs berth
On May 24, MI will go up against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their last league match. Irrespective of the result of the match, the five-time IPL champions will stay in the ninth position. However, they have the ability to knock out RR with a win and also help Punjab Kings (PBKS), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) stay alive in the playoffs race.
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