Ever since Hardik Pandya was appointed the captain of Mumbai Indians, things haven’t really gone well for the five-time IPL champions so far. They were too close to winning the first game but lost to GT by a whisker of six runs in Ahmedabad. As if that weren’t enough, they ended up losing yet another game, this time against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
The ninth game of IPL 2024 witnessed one heck of a staggering run-fest as both teams piled up plenty of runs on the scoreboard. The game saw batsmen flexing their muscles on the match day and the bowlers were shown no mercy. Every now and then, the batsmen kept launching maximums as both teams combined to smash 38 sixes in the game. As many as 523 runs were scored on the match day, which have been the most number of aggregate runs ever registered in a T20 match in the history of cricket.
Lasith Malinga leaves his seat for Hardik Pandya at MI dug-out
Meanwhile, a video clip featuring MI bowling coach Lasith Malinga making way for MI captain Hardik Pandya at the dug-out has gained traction among the fans of the cricket fraternity. The short clip begins with Hardik Pandya approaching towards Kieron Pollard for a chat.
Malinga who was sitting next to Pollard immediately made way for Hardik Pandya so that the latter could sit on a chair at the dug-out during the MI vs SRH match. Fans are upset with Pandya for making his seniors leave their seats for him, as it is considered disrespectful to elders in Indian culture.
Hardik didn't even tried to stop Malinga from getting up and leaving the chair for him. Look at the face of Pollard even he is not comfortable. Pandya doesn't know how to respect seniors. He could have brought new chair 😡😡#MIvsSRH #SRHvMI #RohitSharma𓃵 #klaasen #HardikPandya pic.twitter.com/araISohypL
— Rishabh (@iamrishabhNP) March 27, 2024
Under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy, MI registered two defeats in a row and the new captain is under relentless pressure already. SRH broke RCB’s record of mustering the most runs in an IPL game by posting 277/3 in 20 overs. MI gave it all in the run-chase but lost the game by 31 runs.
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As things stand, MI are ninth on the points table with a NRR of -0.925. They will have to fix the leaks before it’s too late in this toughest T20 competition else they might miss the trick on qualifying for the playoffs. MI will play their next game against Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 1, Monday.