Hardik Pandya's first assignment as the captain of Mumbai Indians (MI) saw him taking on his former side Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on Sunday (March 24).
The all-rounder was traded during the off-season from GT to MI for a hefty sum of INR 15 Crore, with Shubman Gill taking over as the skipper of GT.
On his return to the Narendra Modi Stadium, Hardik didn’t enjoy the best of time as he was at the receiving end of crowd hostility. Moreover, MI lost the match by a narrow margin of 6 runs.
After the game, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan criticized the certain decisions taken by captain Hardik Pandya during the run chase.
With 43 runs needed off the last 5 overs, Hardik decided to send Tim David ahead of him, a move that didn’t sit well with Pathan, who wondered if the MI skipper was not very keen on facing GT’s star spinner Rashid Khan.
"Hardik Pandya made big mistakes in the match. In the powerplay, he bowled 2 overs himself, that was a big mistake. He brought Jasprit Bumrah into the attack a bit late," Pathan said in a video posted on his Instagram account, highlighting the 20 runs that Hardik conceded in his first two overs with the new ball.
"And secondly, when they were chasing, they sent Tim David higher up the order. He sent Tim David when Rashid Khan had an over left.
"I felt Hardik Pandya maybe didn't want to face Rashid Khan after having not played cricket for a long time. This could be the case. I won't agree with the fact that there was an experienced Indian batter sitting in the dressing room and sent an overseas player under pressure against Rashid. They missed a trick there," he added.
Chasing 169 to win, the five-time champions were cruising when Rohit Sharma (43) and Dewald Brevis (46) were batting together. However, their dismissals in quick succession triggered a collapse.
Hardik Pandya, who walked out at No. 7, smashed Umesh Yadav’s first two balls for a six and a boundary in the final over but he was caught at long-on on the third delivery for 11 as MI’s innings ended at 162/9 in 20 overs.
