 "Hardik Pandya appearing ‘flattened, drained’ amid MI’s torrid run in IPL 2024: Aaron Finch")
Hardik Pandya had taken to captaincy like fish to water after being named Gujarat Titans (GT) leader in 2022, guiding them to back-to-back finals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) including the title on debut and has largely been successful while leading the Indian team in the shortest format.
The same, however, cannot be said of Hardik Pandya the Mumbai Indians captain, with the all-rounder going through a torrid time following his high-profile return to his former franchise, where he replaced Rohit Sharma in the leadership role.
Five-time champions MI currently sit at the bottom of the IPL 2024 points table with eight defeats in 11 outings. They have lost each of their last four outings, the latest of which was a 24-run loss against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium — their first home loss against KKR since 2012.
Former Australia captain Aaron Finch sympathised with Pandya, adding that the string of defeats had resulted in the all-rounder looking “flattened” and “drained”.
“He just looks really flattened at the moment, he looks really drained and someone who is feeling the pressure. I feel for him; I have been in that situation myself where everything that you’re trying personally doesn’t seem to be working,” Finch, who had led Australia to the 2021 T20 World Cup title, said on Star Sports.
“When the team isn’t performing as well, that is a very difficult place to be. It one thing where you’re not performing and the team is winning — that is something you’d take as a captain. You bear all responsibility as captain for the team’s performance and that is an incredibly hard place to be, particularly in this competition where it’s so brutal,” the former opener added.
Impact Shorts
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MI were on top in their home game against KKR on Friday, reducing the Shreyas Iyer-led side to 57/5 at one point after opting to field with Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Thusara inflicting the bulk of the damage in the first six overs of the innings. All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer (70), however, came to the Knight Riders’ rescue by stitching an 83-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Manish Pandey (42) that helped them post a competitive 169 on the board.
Mumbai, in reply, lost wickets in a heap once again and were staring at yet another defeat after getting reduced to 71/6. Suryakumar Yadav (56) briefly revived their hopes with a defiant half-century and a 49-run seventh-wicket stand with Tim David (24). MI’s hopes, however, gradually began to fade after SKY’s dismissal with David unable to keep up with the asking rate.
Though they are not officially eliminated from the playoffs race, the chances of MI reaching the playoffs for a second consecutive season appear highly unlikely even if they win each of their three remaining games. Mumbai will, however, be hoping to avoid the wooden spoon, which they had endured under Rohit’s leadership in 2022, the season in which Pandya led Gujarat to the title.
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