Ex-Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif tore into Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya after another defeat in IPL 2024 as the Delhi Capitals beat the five-time champions on Saturday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Kaif, who was in the commentary box, went on to claim that the all-rounder's bowling changes have been baffling, especially with regards to himself.
The 30-year-old hasn't been in form, especially with the ball in IPL 2024. In 8 matches, the seam-bowling all-rounder has managed only 4 wickets, averaging over 40. Saturday's match against the Delhi Capitals saw him leak 41 runs in 2 wicketless overs. The Capitals, in the process, reached a mammoth total of 257, headlined by explosive knocks from Jake Fraser-McGurk and Tristan Stubbs.
While commentating, Kaif stated, as quoted by Star Sports:
"Hardik Pandya's brain is not working at all, sometimes he comes to bowl the first over and sometimes the 5th, actually there is no planning."
Hardik Pandya's explosive 46 not enough as target proves to be a bridge too far:
Mumbai Indians top-order batters Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav could not make substantial contributions to the cause. While Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya launched some massive hits, the required rate kept rising after every over. Pandya's wicket for 46 off 24 balls in the 13th over brought an end a 71-run partnership between him and Tilak Varma.
Tilak and Tim David also ran Mumbai Indians close with some big hits, but the visitors eventually lost by 10 runs.
