Rohit Sharma (L) and Hardik Pandya during IPL 2024 game© X (formerly Twitter)
Mumbai Indians slumped to their sixth loss in the ongoing IPL 2024 as they were defeated by Delhi Capitals in a thrilling encounter on Saturday. Hardik Pandya has faced a lot of criticism since replacing Rohit Sharma as the MI skipper ahead of the season and the team’s disappointing form has not helped matters. There has also been various reports of a possible rift between Rohit and Hardik but no such remarks were ever made from both cricketers. During the game on Saturday, there was a role reversal on the pitch as Rohit was seen setting the field while skipper Hardik looked on.
Coming to the match, Jake Fraser-McGurk slammed an explosive half-century to take DC to 257/4 before Rasikh Salam Dar and Mukesh Kumar took three wickets to clinch the victory for their side.
Hardik Pandya standing on the boundary. Leader Rohit Sharma is setting the field.
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“This game is becoming more and more closer. It (the difference) used to be a couple of overs, now it’s becoming a couple of balls. Because of the kind of games and how the bowlers are under pressure, we backed ourselves to do it. If I had to pick something out, we could have taken a couple of more chances in the middle overs. The left-handers could have probably gone after Axar a little bit, it’s something we missed out in terms of game awareness. It was quite amazing the way he (Fraser-McGurk) batted, he took calculated risks, he played the field really well. It shows the fearlessness of youth. (If he would’ve done something different at the toss) Not really,” Hardik said after the match.
DC skipper Rishabh Pant also opened up about his side’s destructive batting.
“We were pretty happy with 250 on the board but with impact sub it is getting difficult each and every day. Definitely I can do that (come up to the stumps) but the bowler also should be confident, but with a batter like David was walking down and today it worked. He (Fraser-McGurk) has been amazing since the first day and this is what you want from a younger player, he’s getting better and better with each game. The chances (of making it to the playoffs) are increasing day by day, but we are taking it one game at a time.”
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