Xtra Time Web Desk: Mumbai Indians dramatic downfall, led by Hardik Pandya, against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 27 March, will remain etched in memory. SRH emerged with guns blazing, smashing a remarkable 277/3 in 20 overs – the highest score ever in the IPL’s 17-year history – leaving MI’s bowlers utterly bewildered. Despite the valiant efforts of MI’s batters, they fell short of chasing down such a monumental total. For Hardik, who stepped in as MI’s captain replacing Rohit Sharma, this marked the team’s second consecutive loss.
Former Indian cricket team star brothers, Yusuf Pathan and Irfan Pathan has cast doubt on Hardik’s leadership. Despite having Jasprit Bumrah in their lineup, Hardik introduced the star bowler late, a decision that didn’t sit well with Pathan.
Irfan tweeted on X, ‘The captaincy of Hardik Pandya has been ordinary to say the least. Keeping Bumrah away for too long when the carnage was on was beyond my understanding.’ In another post he wrote, ‘Who would have thought a record score of IPL would be against MI. Crazy hitting from SRH.’
Irfan also took a dig at Hardik’s batting. While chasing, MI managed 246/5 in 20 overs. Pandya scored 24 off 20 balls. He said, if the whole team is playing with the strike of 200, captain can’t bat with the batting strike rate of 120.”
Read More: IPL 2024: Sunrisers Hyderabad creates history in IPL with massive 277 against Mumbai Indians
Meanwhile, Yusuf remarked, ‘Can’t understand the strategy behind the skipper keeping a spinner to bowl last over,’ indicating tactical lapses in Pandya’s captaincy approach.
SRH batting was powered by Travis Head’s record quickest half-century by a Sunrisers Hyderabad batter in just 18 deliveries, but it lasted only 20 balls as his fellow teammate Abhishek Sharma smoked a 16-ball 50 (fastest of the season) to lay the foundation of a record-breaking total in this high-scoring contest. In-form Heinrich Klaasen played a blinder of a knock as his 34-ball 80 fired SRH to 277-3 in 20 overs. The MI batters tried to put up a fight, however it was not enough to surpass such a huge total.