Sunday wasn’t the day for Hardik Pandya. While he expected a grand return to Ahmedabad and get Mumbai Indians off to a flying start in IPL 2024 with a win in their opening fixture against his old franchise Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the result, on the contrary, was a heartbreaking defeat from a position of loss. Hardik was criticised for a few of his decisions during the match, but much ahead of the start of the action at the venue where he lifted the IPL trophy as a captain of Gujarat in 2022, the all-rounder was brutally roasted for his act during toss.
After electing to bowl first on what he reckoned was a “decent track which might get better of dew arrives”, presenter and former India head coach Ravi Shastri asked him about the team combination. At the start of the season, captains usually mention their overseas combination, before dwelling on intricate changes in the XI compared to previous matches in subsequent ties in the tournament. However, Hardik did not reveal any names of the overseas players that MI picked for the match against GT.
Hardik said: “We have four quicks, three spinners and seven batters. Making sure all the departments are looked after.”
Reacting to the remark from the MI captain, former India head coach Anil Kumble roasted Hardik on Jio Cinema, which left AB de Villiers, who was also part of the panel, in splits. He said: “I would never expect Hardik to tell us the names as well. Four fast bowlers, three spinners, 11 fielders, we all know that. Who are those?”
Mumbai Indians managed to restrict Gujarat to 168 for six after a 45-run knock from Sai Sudharshan, who was later named the Player of the Match, and a 22-ball 31 from Shubman Gill. Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers from MI as he finished with a stunning figure of 3 for 14.
Unheralded Naman Dhir, who was promoted to No. 3 in the line-up, gave Mumbai a brisk start in the chase after the loss of Ishan Kishan for a four-ball duck in the opening over, followed by a 77-run stand between former captain Rohit Sharma and Dewald Brevis. The partnership put Mumbai in a comfortable spot in the chase as at one point they needed 55 runs to win from the last eight overs with seven wickets in hand.
However, a stellar death-bowling act from Gujarat saw Mumbai succumb in the chase, losing by six runs. While the victory extended GT’s winning record against Mumbai at home, it also added to MI’s IPL woes of not winning their opening fixture in a season since 2012.
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