Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer believes that Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya's decision to bowl the 20th over instead of Akash Madhwal in the Chennai Super Kings innings was a “questionable” decision. Jasprit Bumrah bowled the 19th over, giving Hardik the option of bowling the final over or letting Akash Madhwal finish the innings for MI. Hardik took charge and eventually conceded 26 runs, which were peppered with MS Dhoni's hat-trick of sixes, which took CSK to 206/4, which seemed a far-fetched thought.
While chasing 207, Hardik came to bat when the asking price was below 13. The MI skipper was expected to live up to his reputation as a finisher. However, a bouncer from Tushar Deshpande sealed his journey back to the dressing room.
“Well, I think if I have to criticize his captaincy, I think the 20th he bowled is probably debatable. I think he did well by not bowling spin to Dube. In terms of batting he could have done well .I can't question his captaincy about it. I think only in the field the 20th over was whether he should have bowled or Akash Madhwal, who is probably a better death bowler compared to Hardik,” Jaffer said in ESPNcricinfo's Timed Out -show.
The 20-run defeat to Chennai Super Kings marked their fourth defeat in six matches in the current season. The five-time champion is in 8th place with four points and a negative run rate of 0.234.
Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody believes Hardik needs to tap into the abundance of experience around him to turn the season around.
“It's a challenge, but he has a lot of good people around him. If you look at the dugout, there is a lot of experience, a lot of international experience and a lot of IPL experience. Also on the field there is a He has a lot of experience and that's what he has to draw from and he has to take that support from that experience and try to right the ship in the right direction,” Moody said.
MI will look to return to winning ways against the Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Thursday.
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