Picture Credit: X/IPL
In match 29 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, the Mumbai Indians hosted the reigning champions Chennai Super Kings at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 14. The rivalry between the two five-time champions in the tournament history, which is often termed as the ‘El Classico’ of IPL, saw the hosts succumb to a 20-run defeat.
However, earlier in the match, the MI skipper invited the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side to bat first with the latter putting up 206 runs on the board, courtesy a brilliant performance with the bat from Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and a quick cameo by MS Dhoni. The former CSK skipper during his four-ball stay was seen smashing Pandya for a three consecutive sixes off the last over.
Seeing Hardik Pandya concede more than 40 runs in his three over spell and opting to bowl the final over of the CSK inning, he left pundits and fans divided. After the match, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan fumed at Hardik’s decision to bowl the final over despite the likes of Akash Madhwal, Jasprit Bumrah.
“Hardik Pandya bowling the last over showed the lack of faith in Akash Madhwal’s bowling and his own lack of skill as a death over bowler,” Pathan captioned a post on X, being critical of Hardik’s final over.
A wrong decision: Brett Lee on Hardik Pandya bowling final over vs CSK
Not only Irfan Pathan, several other former cricketers and pundits ripped into Hardik Pandya’s decision, including the likes of Brett Lee, Sunil Gavaskar, Kevin Pietersen and others. The former Australia fast bowler, Brett Lee, however, was a little soft on Hardik when he said, “In hindsight, it turned out to be a wrong decision.”
“If he came in and bowled two bits of yorkers, contained him for eight runs, that’s a great cap scene. So I could see that ownership of him trying to look after his bowler at the other end, Madhwal, saying, well, I don’t want to put him under any more pressure. Going for 12 and a half and over, I’ll do it by myself. But it turned out that it wasn’t the right call. And he has to live by that,” Lee said on JioCinema.
It is to be seen if any of these statements from former cricketers will have an impact on the Indian all-rounder when MI face Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh on Thursday, April 18.
