Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians suffered their fifth loss of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) after Sanju Samson's Rajasthan Royals defeated them by 9 wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, on April 23 (Monday). Former KKR batter, Manoj Tiwary has blamed captaincy and players' trust in Pandya for MI's dismal outing this season.
Manoj Tiwary on Hardik Pandya
Manoj Tiwary believes that players have not bought into Hardik Pandya as MI captain completely and also said if this kind of captaincy continues, MI won't be able to qualify for the playoffs. He also highlighted the mistakes made by Hardik in the clash against RR.
"If this kind of captaincy continues, MI are not making the playoffs. Previously, players were with Rohit Sharma. Now it feels like that MI players have not bought into Hardik Pandya as the captain of the side," Tiwary said on cricbuzz.
"If you have Jasprit Bumrah in the line-up why will you not bowl him in the first over? Buttler came off a hundred, Jaiswal was not in the best form, you need to give your best bowler the best chance of picking a wicket. When Hardik Pandya came in, he got hit for 2 boundaries and that took the shine away from the new ball slightly, and the margin of swing reduced. Things got easier for the batter. I don't see MI progressing in the points table because these silly mistakes are being made," he added.
All-round show from RR
Sandeep Sharma's first IPL fifer and Yashasvi Jaiswal's 2nd IPL century were the real highlight from the match. They helped Rajasthan gain good control on the match in both innings. This was RR's last home game of the season and they ended with a bang.
RR are on top of the points table currently with 14 points in 8 matches. They have only lost one match so far and are likely gonna be the first team to qualify for the playoffs. On the other hand, MI are currently on the 7th spot after their fifth loss of the season.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
Irfan Pathan compares Virat Kohli's strike rate to Chris Gayle but doesn't want him opening with Rohit Sharma in T20 World Cup 2024
RR’s Yashasvi Jaiswal says ‘winning the match is important’ to Rohit Sharma after hitting century vs MI, Watch video here
