Former India batsman Virender Sehwag on Friday questioned Mumbai Indians' (MI) tactics during the 24-run defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their IPL 2024 match. Chasing a below-par 170, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for 145 off 18.5 overs at the Wankhede Stadium. Analyzing the match, Sehwag said he was “stunned” when captain Hardik Pandya and Tim David arrived in the line-up at numbers 7 and 8 respectively. Sehwag also asked a similar question for KKR after star all-rounder Andre Russell rejected the order.
“KKR saved Andre Russell; he played only two balls. Mumbai Indians saved Hardik Pandya and Tim David. What did you achieve by that? There were a lot of deliveries left, and they all got out. You could have come earlier, or maybe You could have ended the game earlier too I don't know what happens to them when they chase… Hardik Pandya at the age of seven and Tim David at the age of eight I just don't understand what they did very that they get out when they come before?” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
Sehwag also criticized Hardik for turning down the order for MI, pointing out how the all-rounder used to bat in the top order for Gujarat Titans. He added that the MI owners should take serious action against the players and management.
“Hardik Pandya was consistently batting at 4 when he was GT captain. What happened here? It baffles me that the experienced players are getting so low.
“I am baffled by this. Management needs to take serious action against players and ask them what is going on. Or players need to speak out about why their batting positions have changed. The captain, batting coach, bowling coach and support staff are present.” Owners should ask strict questions here,” he added.
Speaking about the loss, Hardik said after the match that his team has failed to form the necessary partnerships, and there are a lot of questions that will take time to answer, but he doesn't have much to say at the moment.
“I mean of course we couldn't form partnerships in the batting inning and kept losing wickets. If you don't form partnerships in T20s it will cost you. Not much, there are a lot of questions that will take some time to answer but for now there's not much to say to say,” Pandya said in a post-match presentation.
Topics mentioned in this article