Former England cricket team batsman Kevin Pietersen and legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar were extremely critical of Hardik Pandya’s decision to bowl the first over during the match between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024 on Sunday. The MI skipper decided to start proceedings with the new ball instead of opting for fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah – a choice that sparked much discussion in the commentary box. Things got worse when Hardik was seen as the cleaners by GT openers Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha, with the all-rounder conceding 20 runs in his first six deliveries.
“Why Jasprit Bumrah doesn’t open the bowling? I don’t understand this,” Pietersen remarked.
“Very good question. Very, very good question,” Gavaskar replied on commentary.
Even Irfan Pathan took to social media to have his say on the issue.
“Where is Bumrah?” he posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Where is Bumra located?
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 24, 2024
Gujarat went on to score 169 runs with the bat, a decent total at the wicket. Mumbai Indians got off to a poor start as Ishan Kishan edged wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who was dismissed by Azmatullah Omarzai for a four-ball duck. MI were 0/1 in 0.4 overs.
Rohit Sharma later developed a brief partnership with young batsman Naman Dhir, a 24-year-old with experience of four T20 innings. Rohit hit Umesh Yadav for two superb fours, while Naman hit Omarzai for three fours and a six.
Omarzai, however, had the last laugh, trapping Naman leg-before-wicket for 20 in 10 balls, with three fours and a six. MI were 30/2 in three overs. However, Rohit was unfazed as he continued to punish Umesh with a four and a six.
Dewald Brevis was the next to come up. With a beautiful boundary off Rashid Khan’s delivery, Rohit helped MI reach the 50-run mark in 5.4 overs.
Australian pacer Spencer Johnson delivered a costly over to end the first half of the innings after being hit for two fours by Rohit and a six by Brevis. At the end of 10 overs, MI were 88/2 with Rohit (40*) and Brevis (26*) unbeaten.
Brevis hit Mohit Sharma for a four to help MI reach the 100-run mark in 11.1 overs.
The 77-run partnership for the third wicket was ended by Sai Kishore, who trapped Rohit leg-before-wicket for 43 in 29 balls, with seven fours and a six. MI were 107/3 in 12.1 overs.
After 15 overs, MI were 126/3, with Brevis (46*) and Tilak Varma (15*) unbeaten.
Mohit turned things around for GT, dismissing Tim David for 11 in 10 balls after being caught by David Miller. MI were 142/5 in 18 overs and needed 27 runs in the last 12 balls.
In the next over, Spencer started with a six but got Tilak on the next ball, caught by Abhinav Manohar for 25 in 19 balls. MI were 148/6 and needed 21 off 10 balls.
Hardik Pandya and Gerald Coetzee were the new pair and they took the team to the last over with 19 runs to get into the final over, when Gerald was dismissed for one run by Spencer on the last ball of the over. MI were 150/7 in 19 overs.
Shams Mulani was next in the fold. Hardik started the next over with a six and four. However, he was dismissed for 11 in four balls by Umesh, caught by Tewatia. MI were 160/8 and needed nine runs in three balls. Umesh scored a hat-trick and got Piyush Chawla on the next ball for a duck. MI were 160/9 and needed nine in two balls.
MI ended their innings at 162/9 in 20 overs and lost by six runs.
With ANI inputs
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