Rohit Sharma (L) and Hardik Pandya during IPL 2024 match© X (formerly Twitter)
Mumbai Indians slumped to their sixth defeat in the ongoing IPL 2024 as they were defeated by Delhi Capitals in a thrilling encounter on Saturday. Hardik Pandya has come in for a lot of criticism since replacing Rohit Sharma as MI captain ahead of the season, and the team's disappointing form has not helped. There have also been several reports of a possible rift between Rohit and Hardik, but no such comments have ever been made by either cricketer. During the match on Saturday, there was a role reversal on the field as Rohit entered the field while skipper Hardik looked on.
Coming into the match, Jake Fraser-McGurk smashed an explosive half-century to take DC to 257/4 before Rasikh Salam Dar and Mukesh Kumar took three wickets to complete victory for their side.
Hardik Pandya is on the borderline. Leader Rohit Sharma sets the field.
This is a real cinema! pic.twitter.com/dbe325qvFE
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“This game is getting closer and closer. It used to be a few overs, now it's going to be a few balls. Because of the type of games and the way the bowlers are under pressure, we've backed ourselves to do If I should have gotten something out of it , we could have taken a few more chances in the middle overs. The left-handers probably could have chased Axar a bit, we missed that in terms of game awareness, it was quite amazing the way he (Fraser-McGurk) batted, he took calculated risks, he played very well on the field. It shows the fearlessness of the youth (if he had done something different at the toss). Not really,” Hardik said after the match.
DC skipper Rishabh Pant also talked about his side's destructive batting.
“We were quite happy with 250 on the board but with Impact Sub it is going to be difficult every day. I can definitely do that (get to the stumps) but the bowler also needs to be confident but with a batsman like David it was to walk down and today it worked. He (Fraser-McGurk) has been great since day one and this is what you want from a younger player: he's getting better and better with every game (to make the playoffs). the day bigger, but we take it game by game.”
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