Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya cryptically criticised Tilak Varma’s knock and expressed that if approached aggressively, it could have won the match for the team.
Mumbai Indians’ struggles continued in the IPL 2024 season as they slumped to their sixth defeat after a 10-run loss to Delhi Capitals (DC). Chasing a daunting target of 258 runs, young batter Tilak Varma emerged as a bright spark with a blazing 63 runs off just 32 deliveries. However, his knock was not enough to secure victory for MI.
Following the defeat, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya’s post-match comments raised eyebrows. While acknowledging the team’s overall lack of game awareness, Pandya appeared to subtly point fingers at Tilak Varma’s batting approach during the middle overs.
“Axar bowling to a left-hander [Tilak], the better option could have been to go after him; I think it was just a little game awareness that we missed out. At the end of the day, that cost us the game. The way the games are going and how the bowlers are under pressure throughout the competition, we backed ourselves to do it; the self-belief [was there]. But if I have to pinpoint a couple overs in the middle, we could’ve taken some extra chances,” opined Pandya.
Pandya’s comments, though not explicitly naming Varma, suggested he felt the youngster should have taken a more aggressive approach against left-arm spinner Axar Patel. Interestingly, it came despite Varma’s impressive knock, the highest for MI in the chase.
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The timing of Pandya’s critique is also questionable. While advocating for more calculated risks, he also acknowledged the pressure bowlers have faced throughout the tournament. This raises the question of whether the blame should solely fall on Varma’s batting strategy, especially considering the overall context of the match.
With MI struggling at the bottom of the points table, there seems very little room to salvage their playoff chances. Nevertheless, they will be facing the Lucknow Super Giants in their next outing on April 30th.
Last Updated on April 28, 2024
