Mumbai Indians (MI) were at the receiving end of a comprehensive 20-run defeat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday (April 14).
Asked to bat first, the defending champions piled up a massive 206/4 on the board. While Ruturaj Gaikwad (69 off 40) and Shivam Dube (66* off 38) struck fifties, MS Dhoni (20* off 4) provided perfect finish to the CSK innings.
In reply, the hosts finished on 186/6 despite Rohit Sharma’s second IPL ton. While Rohit waged a lone battle for MI and scored 105* off 63 balls, he didn’t get ample support from the other end. Tilak Varma was the next best scorer with 31 off 20 balls.
Matheesha Pathirana was the wrecker-in-chief with the ball for CSK, picking up four wickets by conceding only 28 runs in his four overs.
After the loss, MI skipper Hardik Pandya acknowledged Pathirana's pivotal role in CSK's victory while also lauding the strategic acumen of Dhoni.
"It (target) was definitely gettable, but they bowled pretty well. Pathirana was the difference. They were smart with the plans and their approach. They got the hang of it, there's a man behind the stumps (Dhoni) who tells them what's working, that helps," Pandya said in the post-match interaction.
Reacting to Hardik’s comment, Australian legend Adam Gilchrist claimed that all is not well in the Mumbai Indians camp and the captain might be feeling isolated at the moment.
"The line about Dhoni is an interesting one. It tells me that he may be feeling like a lone wolf at the moment. Maybe Hardik Pandya is not feeling the support around him," Gilchrist said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
"His observation of the opposition is that he is not crediting the captain Ruturaj Gaikwad there. He is saying he (Gaikwad) has got support from the back. And that tells me a bit about Hardik's mindset at the moment. It also shows the uncertainty and hesitancy within the Mumbai Indians as a package," he added.
Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull, who was also part of the discussion, pointed out the difference between the assistance provided by Dhoni to his successor Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rohit Sharma's perceived discontent.
"The new guy (Pandya) is probably trying to stamp his mark. He is probably trying to do things differently because he knows what happened there in the past. If there is some part of the team not grasping what he wants from the team, it can be very difficult. You still have got the former captain, one may be a bit disgruntled, but the other is helping a young man out. That may be the slight bit of difference," Doull remarked.
With this defeat, MI slipped to the eighth spot in the 10-team points table. It was MI’s fourth defeat in six games this season.
Mumbai Indians will next face Punjab Kings in Chandigarh on Thursday (April 18).
