Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a heavy 24-run defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday (May 3).
Chasing 170 to win, MI’s innings folded for 145 in 18.5 overs. Suryakumar Yadav fought a lone battle with the willow as he scored 56 off 35 balls while no other batter managed to touch the 30-run mark.
It was Mumbai’s eighth defeat in 11 games this season and their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs are now all but over.
After the game, questions were raised over MI’s batting order as skipper Hardik Pandya and hard-hitter Tim David arrived at No.7 and 8, respectively.
Hardik came out to bat in the 11th over when the five-time champions were reeling at 70/5 but failed to make a mark as he was dismissed on 1. On the other hand, David got out in the penultimate over after scoring 24 off 20 deliveries.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag was left perplexed by MI's tactics in the run-chase and demanded strong action regarding the decisions that led to this defeat.
“KKR saved Andre Russell; he played only two balls. Mumbai Indians saved Hardik Pandya and Tim David. What did you achieve by doing that? There were many deliveries left, and they all got out. You could've come earlier, or maybe you could've finished the game earlier, too. I don't know what happens to them when they chase... Hardik Pandya at seven and Tim David at 8. I just don't understand what they did. Are these players that bad that they will get out if they come earlier?” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
“Hardik Pandya batted at 4 consistently when he was the GT captain. What has happened here? It baffles me that the experienced players are coming so low.”
When the anchor suggested that Mumbai Indians might be thinking about the 2025 season already and hence promoted the likes of Naman Dhir and Nehal Wadhera in the batting order, Sehwag remarked that the franchise cannot plan for the future if it is hardly winning games in the ongoing season.
“If you're thinking about 2025, you should consider who should bat at what place today. How can you think about the future right now? If you were qualified (for playoffs), you might have experimented. You are barely winning, and you are experimenting with the batting order,” Sehwag said.
“I'm baffled by this. Management needs to take severe action on players and ask them what's happening. Or, players should speak up about why their batting positions are changed. The captain, batting coach, bowling coach, and support staff are at fault here. Owners need to ask strict questions.”
