Former cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Kevin Pietersen were critical of Mumbai Indians' (MI) tactics after they decided not to send explosive young left-hander Ishan Kishan in the super-over against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Dubai.
In response to RCB's 201/3 in Match 10 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 this Monday (September 28), MI were able to level the score at the end of the 20 overs because of Kishan's terrific knock of 99 runs in 58 balls after they had found themselves 78/4 at one stage, with able support from experienced batsman Kieron Pollard (60*) for the fifth wicket.
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But the team didn't resend Kishan in the super-over, instead preferring the option of Pollard, Hardik Pandya and skipper Rohit Sharma at No.3. MI eventually suffered defeat after making just 7 runs off those six deliveries.
Later, Rohit and even head coach Mahela Jayawardena explained the rationale behind the call, informing that Kishan had dehydrated by the end of his knock.
Pietersen, however, felt not sending Kishan made a huge difference to the outcome.
"He has (had) to be incredibly exhausted and tired to have not batted in that Super over. I think that Mumbai missed a trick, I'm sorry but with that smaller boundary, batting for 2 minutes is nothing. I'm not criticising him (Ishan Kishan), I'm criticising the decision not for him to bat," the former England captain and one of their batting greats said on Star Sports.
"We saw when Mayank Agarwal didn't do it the other night (KXIP vs DC in Match 2) and Kings XI lost the contest," he added.
Gavaskar backed Pietersen's assessment of MI's decision, feeling that it was a matter of only six balls and Kishan should've gone in for the team's cause.
"There's not much time in a Super Over to plan anything. The worst part is the captain and coach will have 15 people telling them what to do. If it was not 8 or 18 to get, RCB would have sent a left-hander in Shivam Dube."
"If it was a 40-over game, Ishan Kishan would still want to go out and bat because form is such a fickle thing it can go just like that. So yes, I think Ishan Kishan should have come in because it was a matter of just 6 deliveries," he added.
